The Battle We Lost
by jessinger
Summary: After the War, the Ministry forces the 7th years back to Hogwarts as well as institutes an new marriage law. Draco wants to start a business and Hermione wants to start over. Can they manage to get along without strangling each other? Marriage Law! Dramione! [RATED T FOR NOW]
1. Prologue

_*A/N: All numbers (Dates, casualties, ect.) are based on the information I found online, feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Happy reading! *_

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling._

_**THE BATTLE WE LOST**_

_**Prologue **_

September 1st, 1998

122 days.

17 weeks and 3 days

3 months and 30 days.

That's how long it had been since we lost 69 wizards in the Battle of Hogwarts. 51 had been Hogwarts students, who really cared about the rest. 122 days ago, the Second Wizarding War had ended with the death of the Dark Lord after lasting nearly 3 years.

The Wizarding World has managed to pick up the pieces after the war, but the healing would take time, much longer than 4 months. Everything had started to go back to normal, or at least as normal as it could have been after the events that took place on May 2nd, 1998.

Voldemort's reign of terror that caused 2 wars, lasted nearly 20 years and cost over 7,500 deaths, muggle and wizard alike, had finally ended that day. Normalcy was something people hadn't felt in a long time.

The Department of Magical Education had required the graduating class to make up their 7th year of schooling, although the Ministry felt as if "they had suffered enough" and needed more "normalcy" in their lives

This made Hermione snort. She was beginning to think they didn't actually know what that word meant in the first place.

Hermione made her way to Platform 9 and ¾ for the last time as a student (well, she hoped to god it was the last time), as what her classmates were referring to as "8th years". She had undoubtedly been named Head Girl this year, although she felt as if it wasn't fair to the 7th years to not have a chance. They did, however, have the title of 'High Prefects' meaning they were definingly in the running for Heads before Voldemort went on his genocidal rampage. She felt the whole thing was absurd. She had already received a job offer from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement preceding her graduation and she felt like waiting any longer was just prolonging the inevitable.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of old sneakers hitting the pavement proceeded by a loud "' Mione!"

The two boys nearly knocked her to the ground as they both tackled her in a bear hug.

"You two nearly scared me half to death!" She laughed.

She looked at both of their smiling faces. Harry had seemed to have aged 10 years since the Battle, his faced seemed older and wiser, more experienced with life, a look that Dumbledore often had when he knew something you didn't.

Ron however, hadn't changed much. His hair was still very red and his face was still covered in freckles. The death of his brother had taken a toll on the Weasley's, George most of all, but he had done a good job of hiding it and putting on a brave face for the world.

Following the Battle, she and Ron had tried to date during the summer but found that it hadn't quite worked out as well as they originally hoped it would. Or at least, that's what Hermione felt. Ron still was under the impression that they could overcome their differences and make it work sometime after graduation. He was still as stubborn as he was when they first met.

"How is our favorite Head Girl?" Harry asked in a slightly teasing tone

Hermione rolled her eyes, "the same as usual."

"Is that good or bad?" Ron asked

"I will let you know when I find out," she replied, "by the way, where is Ginny?"

Ron waved his hand dismissively "she was somewhere behind us, don't know where she bloody ended up."

Before she could reply, the Hogwarts Express pulled in with a mechanical groan as the engine hissed.

"I suppose we should get on, eh? "Harry said, "before all the seats get taken by first years."

"Agreed," she said.

They all wordlessly followed Harry onto the train looking for a seat somewhere on the crowded and noisy bus. They made their way through each section of the train, carefully trying to not get whacked in the head with careless students' trunks as they tried to fit them in the overhead compartments. They finally reached the end of the train to find it was occupied by all of the "8th years". They all nodded in our general direction, acknowledging that although we had won, they weren't currently in the mood for celebrating. We found seats and settled into them silently not quite knowing what to say. The last time they had been on this train was 2 years ago, their 6th year. The year Dumbledore had died in the Astronomy Tower and the year they had found out about all of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes. None of the Golden Trio really thought that they'd ever see the Hogwarts Express again, whether it be they died in battle or if Hogwarts had been completely destroyed.

After the Hogwarts was left in shambles, the Ministry, staff and even a few students went to work repairing it with magic. From the news and other stories that had been floating around, it looks as if nothing ever happened to it. As if it was completely untouched by the horrors it had seen.

They spent most of the ride chatting about various things when a few Slytherins approached us.

Standing before us was Gregory Goyle.

"Potter," Gregory said nodding politely.

"Goyle," Harry said with equal formality.

You could feel the tension in the air as the four of them were silent after a few seconds.

Then Goyle did something unexpected. He held out his hand.

"It's time I apologize for the things I did when we were younger. Malfoy wasn't exactly the best influence. Especially when it came to blood purity views," he said, acknowledging me in the last part.

Harry took his hand and shook it. "I appreciate it Goyle."

Goyle nodded and sat back down without another word.

Ron leaned forward, "speaking of Malfoy, where is he?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "dunno, heard the Ministry gave him the option of taking 'at home classes' this year after his trial. Like some sort of probationary period."

Draco Malfoy had been put on trial for treason and various other war crimes after the Second Wizarding War. Draco pleaded 'not guilty' stating he was blackmailed with his and his mothers' lives by the Dark Lord if he didn't comply. This sent the Wizarding World into a complete and total uproar. Most of the wizarding population found his statement to be absolutely ludicrous and full of lies, demanding that he be stripped of his magic and his wand be snapped. The streets were practically rioting, but that small 2% (mostly his friends who knew the truth behind his motives and his mother) testified in his favor.

After almost 2 months of arguing, the Wizengamot found Draco Lucius Malfoy and his mother Narcissa Malfoy (née Black) 'not guilty', saying that they were 'not to be held responsible for Lucius Malfoy's actions and their crimes were committed in an act of self-preservation.'

Draco, was put on a small probationary period that only allowed him to practice certain spells as well as only visit specific places in the Wizarding World that were approved by the Ministry for the first month after the trial. After the first month, he would face the Wizengamot once again to be re-evaluated on whether or not he was seen as a 'danger to the public' and if he would be able to return to Hogwarts to continue his studies.

We hadn't heard anything after that, and by the lack of his presence on the train, it was clear that the Council had not let him return to the school.

A large part of Hermione was relieved that he would be unable to return to Hogwarts and have to finish his schooling elsewhere. After the war, he hadn't changed much. He was still the same old rich and entitled prat that she had met her first year. Although he had discontinued the use of the word Mudblood, there was still a faint trace of prejudice in him.

Surprisingly enough, that prejudice still existed even after the war. There just wasn't any violence behind it, only cruel words and unapproving looks.

But alas, Malfoy wasn't on the train and Malfoy was not coming back to Hogwarts.

Unless of course, he walked.

Hermione slightly giggled at the idea of the rich Pureblood, heir to the Malfoy fortune and estates walking anywhere. That and it's impossible to walk to Hogwarts.

Harry and Ron shot her a look like she was off her rocker but before she could explain, the conductors voice filled the train.

"Would the Head Boy and Head Girl please find their way to the Head compartment in 45 minutes."

Hermione got up with a sigh and grabbed her bags. She said her goodbyes to both of the boys, ignoring their protests of it being 45 minutes from the deadline, before walking all the way to the front of the train. It took her about 5 minutes to drag her trunk halfway to the front of the train before he realized that she was a witch and didn't need to haul a ridiculously large trunk 1,000 miles.

She took out her wand and pointed it at her trunk, "_Reducio" _she whispered.

The trunk folded and shrunk down to the size of a match box and she pocketed bother newly sized trunk and wand, tucking them both back into her robes as she made it the rest of the way to the front of the train.

She tried to locate the Head compartment door whilst wondering who this year's Head Boy would be.

"_Probably Dean or Seamus, they always kept good marks," _she thought to herself.

She finally found the door an opened it. She took one step in and looked around. The unmistakable trademark silver-blonde hair flashed in the corner of her eyes as a voice spoke.

"Fancy seeing you here Granger."

_*A/N: Thanks for reading. Please favorite and review!*_

_~Jessinger_


	2. Chapter 1

_*A/N: I've decided that I will probably be posting on Saturdays, so I thought it would only be fair to post one today __ Happy Reading!*_

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

_This chapter is dedicated to user delia cerrano; Thanks, so much for your review, favorite and follow!_

_CHAPTER 1:_

"Fancy seeing you here Granger."

Hermione Granger sat there in awe and none other than the Slytherin Prince stood before her. 6'0" muscular build towered over her 5'5" and feminine one. Many of the students had matured after the war but Malfoy seemed to have changed the most. His trademark silver-blonde hair was combed back and styled and his silver eyes glittered in a far less menacing way than they did before. His pale skin looked almost flawless over his toned muscles. His white dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, exposing that damned tattoo.

Although the Dark Mark was still visible, it was very clear that it had faded over the last 4 months significantly. In a few months, it would most likely be unnoticeable.

Despite the hideous mark on his arm, he looked, attractive.

"_That's definitely not the point Hermione," _she thought.

Malfoy cleared his throat, "are you done doing that?' He asked with the faintest trace of a smirk.

Hermione looked up, "am I done doing what?"

Malfoy ran a hand through his hair "ogling me."

"I-I-I was NOT ogling you Malfoy. I was simply wondering why you are in here in the first place."

"For the brightest witch of her age, you can be quite dull sometimes, Granger."

Hermione felt her face turn red and hot with anger.

"I'm here for the same reason you are. I'm Head Boy."

Hermione almost fainted, she would have to share a dormitory (or at least a common room) with the person who had been a constant pain in her arse for the last 8 years.

"How? How is that even possible when-"

"When I am a war criminal? You and I were both at my trial Granger," Hermione tried to open her mouth in protest, "I saw you in the stands, Granger. There is no reason to lie. It's simple: I had the highest marks of anyone in our year, besides you that is. Naturally, I'm Head Boy. Don't seem too surprised."

Hermione went quiet. A knot of anxiety began filling her stomach with the thought of having to live with him. They both fought like cats and dogs for years, what on Earth made McGonagall think that this was a good idea. What if he tried to hex her in her sleep? What if he tried to kill her, or even worse what if he-

"Granger take a deep breath. I've had enough blood on my hands than I have wanted. I'm not going to kill you," He paused, "unless you annoy me too much, then I might consider it."

Hermione couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"We all thought the Wizengamot didn't let you continue your studies," Hermione said quietly.

Malfoy chuckled darkly, "Well as long as it works out in their favor, the Ministry can be quite forgiving."

Before she could ask what he meant, the compartment door opened. Headmaster McGonagall stepped inside.

"I figured you'd already been here Ms. Granger," McGonagall said, "I might as well start briefing you all early then."

McGonagall then proceeded to brief them on all the rules, new and old, as well as other tidbits that might be beneficial to their duties as Heads.

"Your portrait is located near the kitchens, it's a sleeping dragon. The password is 'novis initiis'. I expect you to be giving a short speech regarding the new year at dinner. We will be arriving in 20 minutes, so you'd best be getting dressed in your robes." And with that McGonagall left the cabin with a formal nod.

Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket suddenly.

"Woah! Granger, hexing me already?"

"No, you git, I'm getting dressed."

She pulled out her bewitched trunk from her jacket pocket and set it down on the ground.

"Engorgio!" She said waving her wand and pointing it at her trunk.

The trunk immediately enlarged to normal size. Hermione began rifling through to find her robes. After finding what she was looking for, she pulled out her robes and carefully laid the clothing across the bench to her left, as well as a book she had retrieved. She stood and looked around looking for a changing room.

Of course, there wasn't one. That's how things like this work.

"Malfoy! Turn around and clothes your eyes so I can get dressed, "she said turning around.

She then discovered that Malfoy was in fact, not wearing a shirt.

Classic.

"What was that Granger?" He turned around, without any shame as she felt her face get very red.

"Never seen a half-naked man Granger?"

"That's entirely none of your damned business. Now close your eyes before I blind you prick."

"Hey now, do we need to resort to violence already? What are we? Muggles? Oh, wait" He smirked.

She grabbed the book from her trunk that was lying on the bench and threw it at him as hard as he could. He put his hand up and stopped the book midair. He grabbed the book and walked over to her. He stuck the book out to her, implying that she take it back.

"You dropped something," he sneered.

She took the book from him rather forcefully, "it certainly wasn't my standards Malfoy. The Wizengamot might have gone easy on you but I won't. I will hex you into next week if I have to."

"I wouldn't have it another way Granger," he smirked, "I highly suggest that you start acting civil. Things are changing and we might soon be finding ourselves being forced to be... _friendly_."

"What does that even me-" w

"What is going on in the- Oh! What in Godric's name are you doing Malfoy! Stop being inappropriate and put clothing on!" McGonagall chirped harshly. "We will be arriving shortly"

McGonagall shut the door without another word.

Malfoy did as he was told and finished dressing in his robes and Hermione did the same as quickly as she could.

'What on Earth could Malfoy been talking about earlier?' She thought to herself.

Before she could get an answer, the train lurched to a stop and the sound of students beginning to get off. Hermione stood and reapplied the charm to her trunk and tucked it into her robes. She hurriedly made her way to the carriages so she could help direct traffic.

When she made it outside, she noticed the change in the students faces. The first years were completely oblivious to it, but most of the other students knew.

The thestrals pulling the carriages whinnied and stamped impatiently.

Almost everyone who was involved in the War has witnessed death, and thestrals were a macabre reminder of that.

Shaking that thought out of her head, she began directing students and making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Before they knew it, they entered the Great Hall.

The room hadn't changed one bit, even after all of the destruction, it was still as breathtaking as it was when she first saw it at the age of 11. Students were being seated and dinner started. Halfway through the meal, McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat. After she had managed to get the full attention of everyone, she began the typical start of term speech.

"Welcome! Welcome! To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! To our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you!" She cried; the speech was practically identical to the one Dumbledore used to do each year.

"Now, before we begin our festivities, I would like to take this time to honor our fallen with a moment of silence. To Fred Weasley, Vincent Crabbe, Colin Creavey and Lavender Brown. You will not be forgotten."

The Great Hall fell silent as everyone, especially the 8th years, mourned the loss of their fallen friends and family.

They proceeded to begin the sorting ceremony. After all of the 1st years had been sorted into their respected houses, speeches from the prefects (not the Head Boy or Girl yet which Hermione found strange) McGonagall stood up.

"Now if you would kindly follow your head of house to your new dormitories, with the exception of the 7th years." She said.

There were murmurs of confusion all around, all of the 7th years (including what we were now referring to as the '8th years') stayed seated. Once the Great Hall had emptied of everyone, she magicked the doors shut with a loud "thud!" and began talking.

"If the Head Boy and Head Girl could join me."

Hermione looked at her friends with a confused expression.

"What in Godric's name is going on?"

She and Malfoy joined McGonagall joined her upon the stage.

"I have an announcement to make on behalf of the Ministry of Magic," McGonagall said grimly. She cleared her throat again and unrolled a long piece of parchment paper.

McGonagall began speaking.

"_Welcome back students for another year at Hogwarts. May this year be better than the last. _

_After much discussion and debate, the Ministry would like to announce the reinstatement of law effective on September 5nd 1998. Due to the decreasing population of wizards and witches within the last 30 years due to the First and Second Wizarding Wars, the Ministry has decided to reinstate a marriage law to preserve the livelihood of the wizarding community. _

_Much like the Wizarding law of 1865, this law will affect unmarried wizards and witches between the ages of 17-35 and will be in effect for the next 9 years. After the end of the 9-year term, the Ministry will reevaluate the law and reinstate it if they see fit. For the wizards and witches that qualify, they will be matched based on a simple charm that chooses a partner based on similar intellect, skills, interests and so forth to ensure the best possible outcome of the relationship. The matched couple will be required to marry within the first 4 months of being matched, or 2 months following graduation if one or more parties decides to complete their schooling first. Once the couple is married, they will have one year to conceive a child and another 2 years to produce another child. Each married couple is required to produce 2 children within 3 years of marriage. The couple may choose to separate (under discretion of the Ministry) after the youngest child reaches the age of 5. Failure to comply with this new law will result in the wizard(s) or witch(s) wand being snapped and stripped of all magic as well as excommunication from the wizarding world. _

_The matching charm will be performed over the course of 72 beginning on Friday, September 4th, 1998 at 5 PM and ending on September 6th, 1998 at 5 PM. _

_The Ministry of Magic thanks you for your cooperation and wishes you well in your studies for your final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_Signed, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic _

The entire Great Hall was completely silent for a full minute after McGonagall finished reading the Ministry's letter. Mouths were agape and faces with filled with shock as the weight of the Ministry's announcement sunk in. Draco look unfazed by the entire situation, almost as if it wasn't a shock.

Was this what he meant by 'things are changing' when we were on the train?

"Be forced into marriage or be stripped of magic? Bloody Hell!" An unidentifiable voice called out from the back. The Great Hall began erupting with questions.

"Children! Children! Quiet down! All questions will be answered later by your respective head of house. Now, it's time for our Head Boy and Girl to speak. Ladies first Miss Granger."

McGonagall didn't even try to force a sense of false happiness. She was just as angry about this whole predicament as we were. She motioned for Hermione to step up to the lectern. She obliged.

Hermione shakily stepped up and cleared her throat.

"Fellow student of Hogwarts, we are utterly screwed."

_To the user under Guest who commented: "yeet are Harry and Ron going to accept Dramione" I want to let you know I love you so much._

_*A/N: Ta-da! There is the first chapter for ya! How am I doing so far? Remember to review! *_

_~Jessinger_


	3. Chapter 2

_*A/N: this chapter was meant to set up the story so that things can pick up in the next one. They will be finding out their matches and other shenanigans. It was painful to write because I'm impatient so I drank some rosé. Cheers!*_

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

CHAPTER 2:

"_Fellow student of Hogwarts, we are utterly screwed._"

Or at least that's what Hermione wanted to say. At first, she only just sat there trying to find the words to convey how shocked and horrendous she felt about the whole thing.

To think that I will be working with them in 9 months.

"Students of Hogwarts, "she said, her voice breaking, "it is with great honor to announce that I am Head Girl along the side my fellow Head Boy Mr. Malfoy."

She paused, looking out among the crowd of her pale-faced classmates, her stomach twisting in knots.

"Regarding this new law, I think... I think we uh... need... uh" she stammered.

Malfoy stepped in.

"I think what my Head Girl is trying to say is that regardless of how we feel about this new law, it is essential that we all comply. We lost enough wizards and witches during both of the wars, there is no need to lose anymore due to excommunication."

Hermione tuned out whatever he was saying after he referred to her as "_my _Head Girl". She was beginning to think that he knew far more than he was willing to let on about the subject and she wanted to know why.

"We can find a way to deal with this after the charm is preformed," Hermione finished.

There wasn't anything left to be said after that, so McGonagall dismissed the rest of the student to their common rooms.

Hermione and Draco walked towards their common room in complete silence. Malfoy had his hands shoved in his pockets, staring blankly in front of him. Once they reached the portrait of the sleeping dragon, Malfoy muttered the password.

"Novis initiis," Draco whispered.

The portrait door opened with a moan as if it hadn't been used in 100 years.

The Heads' common room looked like a smaller scale version of any of the other house's common rooms. There was a single couch with a coffee table in the middle of the room. Behind the couch was a wall that separated two sets of staircases. The staircase to the left was a metallic gold color with a maroon curtain hanging above. Each of their house's respective colors.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

He didn't answer, he only raised an eyebrow and turned his head slightly toward her, hands still in his pockets.

"Did... did you know about the law?" She asked timidly.

Malfoy sighed. "I'm not supposed to say. But I can tell you the Ministry did need funding as well as magical help from an outside source to make sure that the charm actually worked."

"Is that why the Wizengamot let you come back to school? Because you funded and created the charm? Do you know who your match is?"

"Goodnight Granger," Malfoy made his way up the silver staircase on the right side of the room without another word.

Hermione knew she wouldn't be getting any answers anytime soon. She gave up and made her way up to her bedroom. She noticed when she got to the top of the stairs that there was a loo behind a door located to the right of her bedroom. She opened the door to her room and she looked around at the breath-taking room.

There was a queen-sized canopy bed in the middle of the room that was decorated in her house's colors. A wardrobe was located to the left of her bed and a window with a small desk to her right. She looked out of the window and noticed that she could see the window looking into Malfoy's room. The room was illuminated and although the blinds were closed, she could see the silhouette of Malfoy loosening the tie around his neck and running a hand through his hair. Hermione looked away, feeling as though she invaded his privacy and blushed. She drew the blinds to her window and got ready for bed. She flopped down onto the ridiculously comfortable bed and sighed.

By the time Hermione has woken up, she realized that she was already going to be late to her first class, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Merrythought. She began frantically running around, getting dressed, and performing a few simple cleansing spells because she knew she didn't have time to shower or brush her teeth. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the common as soon as the portrait opened. She began hurrying to her first class. She looked at her watch.

_8:55 _

She had five minutes before the class would start. She rounded the corner and popped her head in the door, scanning the room for any open seats. Ron and Harry didn't have a class this hour so she couldn't hope that anyone saved her a seat. Her eyes scanned the room frantically.

_Bingo! _

There was one empty seat in the back of the classroom.

Halfway to her seat, she saw the unmistakable silver hair of her new desk mate.

Malfoy was leaned back in his seat casually; his legs were stretched out and crossed in front of him. He turned his head ever so slightly and looked at her out of the corner of his eye but otherwise faced the front of the room.

"Blimey, you were so late that you had to resort to sitting next to a war criminal. Tut, tut Granger, not very 'Head Girl 'of you, now is it?" Malfoy said in a low, husky voice as he chuckled.

"I was, in fact, late, why else would I be voluntarily sitting next to you?" She said, gritting her teeth as she bent down to retrieve her supplies out of her bag.

"Oh, my dearest Granger, you wound me," Malfoy said, feigning hurt.

There was a small moment of silence before Hermione spoke, "You never answered me last night." She said sheepishly in a quiet voice.

Malfoy tensed suddenly; he opened his mouth but Professor Merrythought interrupted him before he could get a word out.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts!" the middle-aged witch said, "I know that doing offensive and defensive spells in light of recent events could be... troubling for some of you, so I've decided to take the first week of this course easy. For today, you and your desk partner are going to be discussing offensive spells and the best way of countering them. But without wands!"

"_You'd think we were a bunch of naïve first years,"_ Malfoy whispered to her.

Hermione snorted, _"maybe she thinks it will make us feel better for almost dying 4 months ago_," she whispered back.

"_Maybe we should just sit around and talk about our feelings. 'Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy and I almost died last semester, but I returned in hopes to not do that again this term!'" _

They both started giggling quietly. They both got a couple of queer looks from the rest of their classmates. After all, they were sworn enemies giggling like lovestruck first years. They stifled their laughter and tried to focus on the rest of their lesson without much luck. Before they knew it, the class was over and they were on to the rest of their classes.

The day ended promptly enough, Harry and Ron both had classes with Hermione after the 1st hour. They used their first hour as their 'free period' for Quidditch. Hermione used hers for homework.

Her and Malfoy had nearly identical schedules and Hermione noticed that every class they had, he sat alone in the back. He isolated himself from all of the other Slytherins which Hermione found strange. But she eventually shrugged off and tried not to worry about what Malfoy did with his life unless it had something to do with her own.

After dinner, Harry and Ron suggested that they all go back to the Gryffindor common room to play a game of wizard cards with the rest on their house. Hermione agreed, but said she couldn't stay long, she had a full night of rounds to do and she couldn't be late. They spent the first part of the night talking about their summer, Harry held Ginny close as they played.

There was a brief moment of silence before anyone spoke.

"So how about this marriage law, eh?" Seamus Finnegan said

The room was uncomfortably quiet until Ron stood up abruptly.

"I think we should fight the Ministry on this! It's unfair and barbaric! We aren't cattle, we took on the Dark Lord, saved the Wizarding World and this is how they repay us? This is how they show us their thanks? We should have a choice in this!" He ranted.

There were a lot of echoes in agreeance, nods of the head and whispers. He had a good point but the Ministry did have a decent argument. The wizarding population had gone down nearly 53% in the last 30 years, and it showed no signs of stopping in its steady decline.

"Ron, there isn't anything we can do about it," Hermione said quietly.

"Of course there is! We can fight them!" He protested

Ginny buried her head into Harry's chest. They were probably terrified out of their minds. They both decided they wanted to get married after the war but with this law in place, it might never happen.

"Ron, we may have won the war, but we've lost this battle already."

Everything was quiet until Hermione stood up and brushed herself off.

"Well. I have to get going. I will see all of you tomorrow, eh?"

The boys looked disappointed but understood. Hermione had a lot to do this year, especially since she was Head Girl. She made her way back to the Head dormitory to finish things up before she had to go on her rounds. When she opened the portrait door, she saw a unique sight.

It was Draco Malfoy, sitting on the floor in front of their coffee table, completely ignoring the perfectly good couch behind him, drinking a glass of something Hermione didn't immediately recognize. His hair was disheveled and his tie was crooked. The first 5 buttons of his dress shirt were open, giving a nice view of his chest once again. That's the second time Hermione saw Draco Malfoy's bare chest within the last 32 hours. She could get used to this. She squinted trying to see what he was drinking.

"Are you drinking Firewhiskey Malfoy?"

Draco looked up.

"Oh, hullo gorgeous, "he slurred faintly, "fancy seeing you here."

_Oh, gods. This was going to be an interesting night that was for sure._

_*A/N: Next chapter: MATCHES! Also I'm totally gonna make them kiss.*_

_~Jessinger_


	4. Chapter 3

_*A/N: Monetary information is based on what I've found online. Apologize if I'm wrong. *_

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

_CHAPTER 3:_

"_Are you drinking Firewhiskey Malfoy?" _

_Draco looked up. _

"Oh, hullo gorgeous," he slurred faintly, "fancy seeing you here."

In front of Hermione Granger sat a half-dressed and tipsy Draco Malfoy.

"Good Godric, Malfoy! What are you doing?!" Hermione shouted.

"Isn't it obvious?" he slurred, "I'm enjoying my last days as a bachelor! Soon, I'll be married to a wife that hates me!"

"Malfoy, what makes you think your match will hate you?"

Malfoy looked up at her miserably.

"Because everyone hates me, I'm an ex-Death Eater. I'm a murder." He said solemnly.

Hermione didn't know how to respond.

"BUT," he said with faux enthusiasm, "I'm also worth 750,000,000 galleons. After dearest Auntie Bella died, mother got all of her money, making the Malfoy's the richest family in the wizarding world. I'm such an eligible bachelor to bag!"

She moved closer to him and sat down next to him. She could smell the Firewhiskey clinging to him.

"Malfoy, just because you've made some pretty terrible decisions doesn't mean your match will hate you."

He stared up at her. "I let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts that day. I cursed Katie, poisoned Weasley and used an unforgivable. I'm not a war hero like you, I'm a villain. I hate me. She should too."

Draco's word hurt Hermione's heart. Despite all of the prejudice, bullying, and harassment that he put her through for 8 years, she felt bad for him. He was just a kid in the middle of a war, they all were. Children shouldn't have to make those decisions, they shouldn't have their youth and innocence stolen away by extremist groups or Dark Lords, they should enjoy their lives.

"You were just trying to protect your mother and yourself, you did what you had to do."

"I am the reason 50 students died."

"You're the reason we won the war."

Malfoy looked up at her curiously, "what do you mean?"

"If it weren't for you that night at Malfoy Manor, Voldemort would've killed Harry onsite. You told him that it wasn't Harry, but you knew it was. You lied knowing that he would've killed you without a second thought, but you still did it. Without Harry, we would've lost the war, without you we would've lost Harry. That makes you as much of a hero as he is, you just don't realize it yet."

Malfoy was silent as if he was trying to recall what happened because he didn't believe what she was saying.

"I let my Aunt torture you."

"That doesn't matter compared to the grand scheme of things."

"But it matters to me."

Hermione sighed, she knew that it was pointless to argue with someone as stubborn as Malfoy and the alcohol was making it much worse. She was only wasting her breath and wandering around in circles. She stood up and offered Malfoy her hand. He looked up at her and reluctantly took it. She used what strength he had to hoist him to his feet. As soon as he was upright, he stumbled as he attempted to make it up to his room.

"Oi! Not so fast Malfoy, you are going to end up breaking your bloody neck if you keep it up," Hermione said.

She draped his arm around her shoulders and began half dragging/ half-carrying up the stairs. He was thin but he was still tall and muscular, making him difficult to carry on her own. She managed to drag him to the bottom of the silver staircase on the right. She looked up the staircase and sighed.

"Malfoy, I'm going to need you to co-operate with me, okay?"

His only response was some sort of mumble.

Well, this was going to be an absolute blast.

She heaved with all of her strength and managed to get Malfoy up the first step. Then the second. Third. Four-.

THUMP!

'So much for not breaking your neck' thought Hermione.

Malfoy had slipped from her grasp and landed at the bottom of the staircase. She needed to work on the whole medi-witch thing. She walked to the bottom step and began the entire process of half dragging/ half carrying an intoxicated Malfoy up the steps until she managed to get to the top of the stairs. She had made it to his room and magicked the door open. His bedroom was a replica of hers, only adorned in the Slytherin colors. She flung him down onto the large bed, almost falling to the floor in the process. Malfoy landed on the bed and groaned. Attempted to stand and was teetering like a toddler learning to walk.

"Oh no you don't," Hermione said, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him back onto the bed.

"Granger, I'm trying to take my bloody shoes off," he slurred in an annoyed tone.

Hermione sighed, "I'll take off your bloody shoes, just sit your arse down!"

Malfoy sighed out of annoyance and flopped down onto the bed. Hermione began taking his shoes off. She managed to get his shoes off and look up just in time to see Malfoy tugging at the remainder of his shirt buttons in an attempt to rid himself of the garment.

"You're going to rip it or break your buttons, whichever happens first."

He looked up at her with a smirk. He splayed his hands in front of him as to say 'I surrender'.

"Well you are more than welcome to undress me if you'd fancy," he said smugly.

Hermione could fee herself turn bright red. "And what makes you think that I'd fancy that?"

"Oh, nothing you're just too prude to even attempt," he slurred obnoxiously.

Hermione was naturally ready to prove the git wrong, so she started carefully undoing the last few remaining buttons on his dress shirt. She managed to finally get the garment off of his body and threw it to the side.

"What were you saying Malfoy?" She challenged.

Malfoy looked at her. He had a faraway look in his eye and she could tell he was deep in thought, contemplating something. He looked torn and troubled like he wasn't sure he was going to make the right decision. He reached a hand out and cupped her cheek, pulling her face in close with his.

His lips were surprisingly soft and gentle. They moved slowly and timidly on hers as if they were unsure of the situation in the first place. Hermione closed her eyes and responded to him. She loved how they felt; soft, warm and caring. They held no resemblance to the character he had played for the last 7 years of their lives. She forgot for a moment who he was and who she was. But naturally, all things come to an end.

She pulled away, not knowing what to say. Not knowing how to feel. Was she supposed to be shocked? Happy? Repulsed? And Godric forbid, excited.

He looked up at her. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Malfoy, you're drunk. Go to sleep," she said quietly.

"Such a Gryffindor Princess, always expecting to get what you want."

"And you're such a Slytherin Prince to expect any different," she said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Goodnight Malfoy, "she said before shutting the door and returning to her bedroom for the night.

SEPTEMBER 5th

The next few days of classes passed uneventfully, the 7th years all growing anxious for the day they would undergo the charm that would match them into a forced marriage that would last for the at least the next 8 years of their lives. Ginny and Harry were the worst. They had planned to get engaged and married following graduation, but since the placement of this law, all their dreams might come crashing down.

The day had finally come. Both nervous 7th year graduating classes filed into the Great Hall. Once inside, they were greeted by rows of chairs and a few representatives of the Ministry of Magic. The Minister himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt, newly-appointed head of the International Magic Law Office Percy Weasley, and Advisor to the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge.

Once everyone was seated, they began calling names by row.

"Hannah Abbott!"

The blonde rose uncomfortably from the first chair in the front row and began timidly making her way to the stage.

The Minister instructed for Hannah to hold out her hand. The Minister waved his wand and pointed it at the palm of Hannah's hand.

"_Par mihi!" _

A bright golden glow emitted from the end of Shacklebolt's wand and Hannah flinched slightly as if it hurt. He closed Hannah's hand into a fist as if to contain the golden glow from the spell. He moved her hand over to a piece of parchment and positioned her hand a few inches from it. He instructed her to open her hand and golden wisps of magic sunk into the parchment and glowed.

"Neville Longbottom!"

The room was silent until Fudge started clapping and the rest of the room joined in awkwardly.

"Blaise Zabini!"

Silence

"Padma Patil!"

Applause.

"Parvati Patil!"

Silence

"Seamus Finnegan!"

This godawful process was continued.

"Ginevra Weasley!"

Ginny anxiously made her way to the stage and underwent the charm.

"Harry Potter!"

Ginny's face lit up and a small smile formed on her lips in utter relief. Hermione was glad her friend's world wouldn't come crashing down as hers' was about to.

"Ronald Weasley, come forward."

Ron sat pale-faced in the chair next to Hermione not wanting to move. He willed his legs to finally work as he made his way up.

"Pansy Parkinson!"

Ron looked dumbfounded as his classmates clapped.

Hermione didn't need her name called for her to rise from her seat and make the agonizing walk to the stage. She thrust her hand out to Minister Shacklebolt with an angry look. She practically threw her and at the parchment.

The golden wisps began forming words on the paper, they swirled until the shining letters spelled out a legible name.

"Draco Malfoy," the Minister announced with a slight hint of pity in his voice.

Unlike the other students after their matches, there was no applause, only silence.

Hermione's eyes met Malfoy's in the crowd. His expression was a mix of anger and remorse. More anger than anything else, but he looked like he wasn't surprised or shocked in the slightest.

"_You knew!"_

Hermione was shouting.

"You knew this entire time it was me and you didn't say a word! You ferret!" She yelled as she stormed off the stage towards him.

She pulled her wand and pointed it at his face, "Give me one good reason I shouldn't hex you into the next week! One reason!"

Malfoy looked blankly at her.

"_Expelliarmus." _

Hermione's wand flew from her hand straight into Draco's, she hadn't even seen him take out his wand. He slowly approached her as if she was some sort of wild animal, and based on her level of anger, she wasn't far from it. He put his hands on her shoulders and restrained her from hitting him.

The entire Great Hall was silent as they watched the exchange, too shocked to attempt to stop her, as well as too scared.

It only took her a few seconds to calm down. She looked at him, her eyes full of angry tears.

"I_ hate_ you." She whispered full of quiet rage.

"I know."

_*A/N: Until next week! Leave me a review on what you'd like to see next! *_


	5. Chapter 4

_*A/N: Monetary information is based on what I've found online. Apologize if I'm wrong. *_

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

_CHAPTER 4_

"_I hate you." She whispered full of quiet rage._

"_I know._

Malfoy didn't blame her in the slightest. He would hate her too if she knew ahead of time and she didn't give him at least some kind of warning. But the Ministry had threatened to send him and his mother to Azkaban if he refused to work on the project or disclosed any information he had learned about the Ministry's plans. They had been in the works of this marriage law for years, they just didn't have any reason, or rather excuse, to institute it in the first place. The ending of the war and the numerous causalities had made for a perfect scapegoat for their little plan.

Draco, being very skilled in charms, wandless magic, potions as well as Occlumency and Legilimency, seemed like a perfect candidate to work on the required charm. That and he was desperate enough to take on the Dark Mark to protect his mother, so what other lengths was he willing to go to protect dear old Mum?

Draco remembered the conversation as if it were yesterday.

-_FLASHBACK: MAY 4th 1996-_

"Mr. Malfoy, what lengths would you go to to keep your mum safe?" Asked Minister Shacklebolt.

"What sort of a person would ask that kind of question?"

Malfoy was seated in some sort of holding room in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement located on the 2nd floor of the Ministry of Magic in Westminster. He was seated in front of a small table in a bland room.

"The same person who requires a specific skill set, and of course the same people with a sizeable amount of leverage to either condemn you to Azkaban or let you walk away a free wizard."

"So, the same person who is willing to blackmail a _teenager_?"

Shacklebolt grimaced and took a seat in the corner of the room.

"Your birthday is on June 5th if I am not mistaken?"

Malfoy nodded suspiciously.

"Making you 17 in 32 days, which in turn makes you an adult in the eyes of the Wizarding World. I could either persuade a 16-year-old boy or I could throw an_ adult _into Azkaban. Or at least, that's the way I see it.

Malfoy sighed. He knew he had been backed into a corner and had run out of options.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Mr. Malfoy, the Ministry needs you to do a great service to the wizarding world. We need you to come up with a charm that allows two individuals to be matched to one another based upon compatibility, intellect and other key factors for a romantic relationship."

"You are _threatening _me with Azkaban to create a charm so you can play _matchmaker_?" Malfoy asked incredulously.

The Minister sighed. "I need you to help us create a way to match wizards and witches for a marriage law. The ministry also lacks the funding to do so. When the richest witch in the wizarding world, your Aunt Lestrange died, the entirety of her fortune was left to her sister, Narcissa Malfoy. Since you are the man of the house, that makes you the richest man in the wizarding community."

Malfoy leaned forward in his seat. "It would wouldn't it? You see _Minister_, the only problem with that is the Ministry kindly froze my family's assets in Gringotts, making me poorer than the Weasleys." He sneered.

"That can be easily undone. _If _you cooperate with us."

"Why me of all people?"

"You're bright, you have the funding, but most importantly Mr. Malfoy, you're desperate enough."

"What if I agree? Then what happens?"

"Simple: you and your mother stay out of Azkaban. We will hold your trial on the 7th, and sentence you and your mother to a probationary period. During that period, you will be working closely with the Ministry to develop the charm until August when the Wizengamot revisits your case and decide whether or not to allow you back to school. The outcome of you and your mother's retrial in August will depend on if you are successful with the charm or not."

"Is 3 months even enough time to work on a charm?"

"Let's hope for your sake it is Mr. Malfoy."

Draco sat there in utter shock. This whole proposal was madness. But he was desperate. He put everything on the line for his mother and he didn't want his efforts to go to waste. If he failed, they went to Azkaban. On the other hand, if he refused outright, they would end up in the same place. At least with agreeing he gave his mother and him some sort of chance.

"And what happens to my mother during those 3 months?"

"Rest assured, she will be allowed back to Malfoy Manor and taken care of."

"I'll do it."

_-PRESENT DAY-_

Hermione sat miserably at a table tucked away in a corner at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, drinking a mug of warm Butterbeer.

She felt awful, absolutely terrible. She wasn't ready to even get married in the slightness, much less the Malfoy. Other girls eyed her in jealousy in the hallways that night, yet Hermione was possibly one of the only witches that didn't think the idea of becoming the heiress to the Malfoy fortune appetizing. She had no desire to step foot back into that wretched manor, much less live there.

The other problem was the children. She didn't want to have to put her career on hold to have children with a man she didn't love. It wasn't that Malfoy wasn't good looking, he was a very attractive wizard, she just didn't want _him._

This whole thing was an outright mess. She wanted nothing to do with it, with him. And to make matters worse, he _knew _that he was her match, he knew and he didn't even say anything to her. He knew that it was her for possibly months now, he created the bloody charm for Godric's sake!

Hermione groaned and placed her head in her hands. She looked up to see Ginny, Harry and Ron all walking towards her. They sat down across from her. No one said anything for a good while until Hermione finally spoke up.

"Why didn't he tell me! Why didn't he warn me ahead of time!" Hermione said angrily.

"Maybe so you didn't murder him in his sleep to get out of an arranged marriage," Harry said

"I won't let you marry him, Mione, I won't," Ron said angrily

"Ron, I don't think she has much of a choice. I don't think they gave him much of one either" Ginny said

"What do you mean?" asked Ron

"Well it's not like he_ chose _Hermione, and he probably didn't say anything because he couldn't." Ginny replied

They all funnily looked at her.

"I mean think about it, if Malfoy told anyone about this whole marriage law thing, wizards and witches would probably try to stop it right? The Ministry most certainly doesn't want another war on their hands. I find it quite strange that Malfoy would even want to keep things quiet in the first place."

"That's probably because he didn't want to," Hermione said raising her head from her hands, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about 'Mione?" Ron asked

"Say what you will about him but Malfoy wouldn't want to keep his mouth shut about it. Maybe someone forced him too."

"Why would someone force him? He's just a prat, nothing more to it."

"Maybe to protect someone?" Ginny chimed in

Hermione stood up from the table abruptly "I will see you tomorrow."

"Oi! Where in the Seven Hells are you going?" Shouted Harry

"To get some answers!" Shouted Hermione as she ran out of The Three Broomsticks and made her way back to the castle.

_**HOGWARTS**_

Hermione practically ran through the portrait door of the Head's Dorm. The entire room was dark except the lit fireplace and a few candles. Hermione looked around the dim room to find _him _lying on the couch staring up at the ceiling as if he was having some sort of existential crisis. He raised his head slightly to look at her and returned to his original reclined position.

"What do you wa-"

"Did the Ministry force you to keep quiet?"

Draco sat up straight quickly and looked at her with wide eyes.

"What did you just say?"

Hermione took a step closer "did the Ministry force you to keep quiet about the marriage law when you found out?"

Draco sighed and swung his legs off the couch so that he was in a normal sitting position.

"Granger... it's _complicated."_

"Well then, uncomplicate it!"

"It's not that simple." Draco sighed

"Did they or did they not Malfoy? Just answer my bloody question!" Hermione said angrily

"Yes and no. Yes, they told me that I wasn't allowed to say anything about it. But I didn't figure it out. The Ministry told me about the law months ago."

Hermione opened her mouth, her eyes wide with so many questions. Draco raised a finger in the air to silence her before she began assaulting him with questions.

"I was the one who made the charm. I didn't have a choice. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice! You always have a choice! You just made the wrong one and feel bloody awful about it!"

"Granger," Malfoy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "it was either that or my mother and I go to Azkaban for life."

"What?"

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his already messy silver-blonde hair.

"The Ministry made me a deal a few days after the war: create the charm and help fund the marriage law, or spend the rest of our lives in Azkaban. I couldn't do that to my mother Granger, not after everything I did during the war to keep her safe."

"They threatened you? We can go to The Daily Prophet and tell them the whole story! We can make the Ministry dissolve this marriage law, we can-"

"Granger, that's enough," Malfoy said sternly while standing from the couch

"Malfoy, we can use this as leverage against the Ministry!"

"That's enough! You will do nothing of the sort!"

"And why is that?" She challenged, closing the distance between them so that they were face-to-face.

"You are to be a Malfoy; I don't need you going to the press to destroy what little honor is left to my family name!" Malfoy stepped back from her and turned away, not wanting to look her in the eyes.

"Is that your argument? You would rather marry a mudblood than risk losing your _pride?"_

Malfoy spun around, meeting her face-to-face to the point where their noses were almost touching.

Malfoy raised his voice

"Because you are to be my wife and it's my job to look after you! I'm supposed to take care of you and I can't do that if you destroy what's left of my family name by declaring war on the Ministry of bloody fucking Magic!"

"So, this is all just politics to you Malfoy? Is that all you care about?" Hermione yelled back

"No! I care about my mother and her safety and I care about keeping my fiancée from getting avada'd!"

"_Fiancée? _Since when did you earn the right to call me that? I don't see a ring on this hand and you certainly didn't ask me for that matter!"

"I don't recall you having much of a choice Granger!" Their noses were touching at this point and they were both breathing hard from frustration.

Draco grabbed her face with two hands and brought his lips down on hers and began kissing h. A feeling overtook him and for just one moment, they were two different people. Nothing mattered. They were stuck with each other and they would have to deal with it.

She didn't fight him, much to his surprise, she just tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his face closer to hers, his scalp stinging from how hard she was pulling his hair.

He pulled away, breathing heavy and looked down at her. She had swollen lips and splashes of red began appearing on her face. Whether her coloring was from anger or embarrassment, he hadn't a clue.

"You have no idea how much I hate you, "she said

"That makes two of us Granger."

He pulled her face close to his once more, their lips brushing against each other.

"I'm going to make this work Granger."


	6. Chapter 5

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

_Engagement ring credit goes to Anderson's Corner, a jeweler based out of West Virginia, who does stunning work. I gave a detailed description at the end of the story (it's in bold) so you can see the ring._

_**CHAPTER 5**_

_He pulled her face close to his once more, their lips brushing against each other. _

"_I'm going to make this work Granger."_

_-__**DRACO-**_

Draco had gone home to the Manor for the weekend to visit his mother. He stepped out of the Fl oo and into the study and brushed his robes off. His mother entered the room and threw her arms around her sons' neck.

"Oh, how I've missed you," Narcissa sighed

She pulled away and studied her only sons' face. She frowned.

"I take it things didn't go very well?"

Draco shook his head, "it went as expected, maybe slightly worse."

Draco sat himself down on the sofa and sighed, head in hands.

"I don't have any idea how I'm going to make this work."

"Don't force it, my child. Take things one step at a time. She is shocked and probably scared too." His mother said sympathetically.

"I wish I could just start everything over with her or at least, find a way to fix this."

Draco sat on the sofa for a good while until he finally thought of an idea.

"May I have our family ring?" Draco asked his mother, standing up.

"Darling, that ring is cursed, "Narcissa explained, "only a pureblood witch can wear it without dying."

"Good thing the Ministry owes me a favor."

Narcissa sighed and disappeared momentarily only to return with a small velvet red ring box. She delicately handed the box to her son. Draco opened the box and viewed his grandmother's ring. It was a beautiful platinum filigree ring. It had a 3.5-carat diamond in the center, the detailed filigree pattern was set with countless other small diamonds. In other words, it was big, shiny and nearly priceless.

Draco snapped the ring case shut and tucked it away in his robes. "I will be back later this evening, I need to pay Shacklebolt a visit," Draco said kissing his mother on the cheek before stepping into the Floo.

He grabbed a handful of the fine powder.

"_Ministry of Magic!"_

There was a blast of blinding green light and he found himself located in the Ministry of Magic. The building was abnormally slow, only a handful of wizards and witches walking about. It was also not surprising for a Friday afternoon. Draco made his way towards the minister's office and found himself face to face with a small witch at the front desk. She reminded him of Umbridge and he suppressed a shudder.

"Can I help you?" the witch asked without looking up from her parchment.

"I need to speak with Shacklebolt."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I just n-"

"You need an appointment to speak with him, have a nice day."

Draco didn't move, "I'm not leaving until I speak with him."

"The Minister is a very busy man, I'm sure th-" the witch looked up, "Oh! Pardon me, Mr. Malfoy! I will let Shacklebolt know you are here!" The plump middle-aged witch scurried up from her desk and disappeared. A few moments later, her head peeked out from behind a wall and she motioned for him to follow her.

Malfoy followed her to a set of frosted glass doors. The witch opened the door and motioned for him to enter. The witch shut the door behind him.

Shacklebolt looked up from his glasses at the blonde and gently set his quill down. He folded his hands and placed them on the desk.

"Mr. Malfoy, to what do I owe the _pleasure?"_

"I need a Curse Breaker," he stated bluntly.

The Minister raised his eyebrow curiously, "and why would that be?"

"So, I can propose to my fiancée and have her survive."

The Minister raised his eyebrow even more.

"I happen to have a very racist and very cursed engagement ring."

"Maybe you should try using a different ring, maybe one that's not prejudiced."

Malfoy sighed, "it's a Malfoy family heirloom. I would like to keep it in the family and considering how my children will not be pureblooded, I don't have any other choice."

"And why should I provide you with a Curse Breaker?"

"Because I happen to be the one who not only funded but developed the curse that got me into this situation in the first place. And it's the least you can do for blackmailing me into doing the first part."

Kingsley was quiet for what seemed like an eternity but, what could have only been a few minutes.

"I think I can manage to sort something out with our curse removal department. I will send you an owl sometime later in the day with more information and get everything set up."

Malfoy nodded and turned to leave the office.

"and Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy turned his head slightly over his shoulder to look back at the minister.

"I would highly suggest refraining from speaking like that to me in the future, remember who is the one in charge here."

Malfoy said nothing as he walked out of Shacklebolt's office and made his way down to the Floo.

"_Malfoy Manor!"_

_**-HERMIONE-**_

Hermione had Friday afternoons off. Draco did as well, luckily, he was nowhere in sight, so she could feel sorry for herself in peace. She flopped down onto her bed with a loud _hmmph! _And groaned loudly into her pillows. She rolled over and stared at the top of her beds' canopy.

She was lucky to be marrying Malfoy to be entirely honest. He was widely known as one of the most handsome and eligible men in the wizarding community. She would be wizarding world royalty, successful, not to mention filthy rich. She saw the ways the other girls eyed her jealousy in the hallway, despite his crimes and affiliation with Voldemort during the war, every girl wanted him. The only problem was that it was _him. _

He had grown up from the child she had met during their first year, he had matured immensely after the war, but those 7 years of torment and the scars from his aunt, both physical and emotional, were still fresh.

And worst of all, she still wanted a normal relationship after all that she had been through. She wanted to date, fall in love, be properly proposed to. She knew she could have none of that with Malfoy, they were being forced together in some twisted game the Ministry decided it would be best that they use them as pawns.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. She wanted to go to the ministry and tear it down one brick at a time. Maybe she could find some sort of way to defy them once she began working with them proceeding graduation.

_Maybe_

She hoped that Malfoy didn't expect her to be a stay at home witch as opposed to going out and working. Or sleep in the same bed as him on a nightly basis. These were all things that needed to be worked out before they got married. She was slowly but surely accepting the life that had been placed in front of her, knowing there was no way she could change it. She didn't think that even after the war, she would still have to fight some sort of battle.

She flipped back over and buried her face into her pillow once more.

_**-DRACO-**_

"Mipsy!"

A loud pop announced the arrival of the small female house elf.

"Yes, Master Draco?"

Draco stood in the main hallway of his family manor, hands in his trouser pockets, staring at the array of family portraits.

"I want you to move all of the portraits downstairs into the storage cellar and lock the door. Bring me the key once you are done."

"Yes, Master," Mipsy squeaked.

Mipsy began moving the various family portraits, ignoring their protests.

"Draco, my love? What are you doing?" his mother asked curiously

Draco turned to see his mother with a puzzled expression painted across her face.

"I'm moving the portraits so that they won't upset the new Lady Malfoy when she moves in."

She stood next to her son and watched the portraits be moved.

"To be honest, I don't think I will miss them," his mother said, "your great aunt Lyra was always a bitch."

Draco turned to his mother and raised an eyebrow. She looked at him, "what? You know I am just being honest."

"The next thing I am going to have to sort out is how to disable all of the traps in the manor as well as wards against non-purebloods." Draco ran one hand through his hair.

"Do you think that the Department of Curse Removal could do that for you?"

Draco sighed, "possibly, if only I knew what sort of curse was placed on the manor in the first place."

"I'm sure we can find out,"

"Winky?"

A loud pop followed by a "yes mistress?" echoed through the now emptying hallway.

"could you please bring me Master Armand's notebook to me?"

The small house elf nodded and disappeared, only to shortly return with a small leather-bound journal. Narcissa handed her son the book gently. Draco looked down at the book in his hands.

"This thing looks bloody ancient."

"Oh, that's because it is, darling. It was your Grandfather Armand's from the 10th or 11th century, he is the one who built the Manor."

"How is this thing so perfectly preserved then?" Draco asked flipping through the pages.

"My guess would be magic because, you know," Narcissa raised both of her hands slightly and gestured around the house.

Draco had noticed in the short few months that his father had been incarcerated in Azkaban, his mother's personality had changed from a timid housewife to a strong mother with a fair amount of attitude. Draco liked seeing this side of his mother, she was so unfiltered and quite frankly, entertaining.

"Thanks, mother, I will have to look through this and see if it gives me any ideas."

Draco proceeded to look at the new empty hallway wall. The portraits had been there so long that once removed, you could see where the previously hung due to the fading in the paint. Draco frowned.

"We will have to repaint that," Draco said

"We will just have to redecorate," Narcissa replied, "it's too bloody dark in this house anyway."

Draco was becoming more and more surprised at his mother each day. A small hand tugged on his trousers and broke his thoughts. He looked down to see Mipsy holding out a small skeleton key in her hand. Draco took the key and tucked it away in his trouser pockets.

"Thank you Mipsy, you're free to do whatever else you'd like today."

Mipsy beamed and hugged onto his leg before disappearing.

Draco made his way to his bedroom and over to an antique jewelry box on his dresser. It was a plain silver jewelry box that stood on 4 legs placed at each corner. It lacked decorations, save for the locking mechanism which was a small snake curled into a Celtic knot with small emeralds for eyes. He pushed the small circle adorned with snakes in with his thumb and the lid snapped open. The box was lined with purple velvet and filled with small treasures. A golden snitch, a bronze locket that had the Malfoy Family Crest engraved on the front, a gold signet ring, and a small vial of a Draught of Peace. He gently placed the key inside and began closing the lid before he hesitated and eyed the ring. He shook his head and closed the lid a little harder than he should have.

A snowy owl had flown to his window with a piece of parchment. He opened the window and recognized the wax seal of the Ministry.

_Mr. Malfoy,_

_Please bring your cursed object (s) to the Department of Curse Removal tomorrow at 9:00 am._

_Oh, joy._

**_Unfortunately__, it wont let me link the website for the ring properly. If you type andersons corner . com (no spaces and don't forget the s at the end of "anderson") and paste the following: _/product/platinum-detailed-antique-diamond-ring/, after it, the link should bring up the ring. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience but it TRULY is a magnificent ring and I feel as though my description doesn't do it justice.**

_A/N: I am SUPER excited for next week's chapter already!_

_Cheers!_

_~jessinger_


	7. Chapter6

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

_Mr. Malfoy,_

_Please bring your cursed object (s) to the Department of Curse Removal tomorrow at 9:00 am._

_Oh, joy._

_**CHAPTER 6**_

The Slytherin Prince had been awake since 6 am, leafing through the notebook his mother had given him the previous day for nearly 3 hours. The ink on the parchment was legible, but it seemed the farther and farther into the book he got, the more rushed the writing had become. His eyes scanned the page and eventually settled on a word that was unfamiliar to him.

_modo purissimum_

He had never even seen a spell or anything else like it before. He bookmarked the page and hoped that the Curse Breakers had some sort of answer for him.

Malfoy's travel to the Ministry was uneventful, to say the least, and even more boring as he found his way to the Office for Removal of Curses, Jinxes and Hexes. When he finally reached the office, he was greeted by a tall and fit brunette bloke. The lad stuck out his hand to Malfoy. Malfoy took his hand and shook it, antsy to get down to business.

"I hear you have a racist engagement ring, eh?" the man said unironically, "Edmund Harper."

"Draco Ma-"

"I know who the hell you are, don't be modest," he grinned, "so where is this ring?"

Malfoy's hand disappeared into his robes and produced the small red velvet ring box. He held it out to Harper. Edmund took it from him and gingerly snapped open the top and inspected the platinum ring. After a while, he set it down on a small table and pointed his wand at it, muttering various spells.

"And uh, what level of racist are we talking about here mate?"

"Murder."

Edmund seemed taken back at Draco's reply.

"Well, I hear those love story diamonds are quite nice."

"So, what I'm hearing is that you can't fix it?"

"I mean I suppose I could, but the problem is that I've never seen a curse like this one, its barely detectible at that. If I knew what kind it was, I might be able to," Edmund said scratching his chin.

Draco remembered the notebook and pulled it out, flipping to the page he had bookmarked previously. He pointed to the unfamiliar words and held the book out to him. Edmund's eyes scanned the page and got a bit wider.

"Oh boy, that's an old bugger. That my mate is what we call a 'purity blood ward' if I'm not mistaken. Very old and hardly ever used anymore." Edmund pulled out his wand and waved it over the ring. It glowed a faint blue color, indicating that was not a curse, but a ward.

"it's a bit strange to put a ward over a tiny ring isn't it?"

"Oh, but you see Edmund, that the ward is also surrounding my entire house."

Edmund look horrified, "how long has it been there?"

"My guess, 10 centuries," Draco said dejectedly

"Well, I might need a bit of help but I can do it for ya," he replied confidently

"And how long will that take?"

"Oh, I can do it all today if you'd like me to. Let me do this ring first."

Edmund spun around and aggressively waved his wand for what seemed like a solid 15 seconds. When he pointed his wand at the small box, a small blue explosion erupted from his wand and shot the box with the ring off of the table. The ring box was burning with blue fire.

"Harper, what the fuck!" Draco yelled at the wizard.

Draco rushed to pick up the ring to find that it was unharmed. He carefully closed the lid and slid it into his pocket and eyed the wizard warily.

"You're certainly not going to do that to my house are you?"

"Probably not," Edmund shrugged

_**-MALFOY MANOR-**_

Edmund and Draco reached the Manor finally. Draco had learned a bit about the wizard and found that he was quite interesting. He is originally from Storrington but moved here after he graduated from Hogwarts. He was 22 and he lived alone, his previous girlfriend didn't fancy how dedicated he was to his curse-breaking job, which Malfoy also found out was quite a lot.

"That's one large house, mate," Edmund said incredulously

"Thank you, it will be much more appetizing when we get these wards down."

"Agreed"

Edmund raised his wand and looked as if he was going to begin preforming the charm. Draco immediately knocked the wand out of his hand.

"Oi! Harper! Are you _trying _to kill my mum?" Draco asked incredulously.

"I mean, I didn't fully plan on it," Edmund shrugged.

As if on cue, Narcissa walked out of the Manor and on to the well-manicured, green lawn. She greeted Edmund and her son. Draco introduced the two and began filling in his mother on the situation and the plan they had for dissolving the dangerous ward around the manor and the surrounding grounds. After what seemed like an eternity of Edmund coaching them on the correct pronunciation and wand movements of the complicated spell, they finally had everything in place for the spell.

All three wizards took out their wands and began preforming the spell around the house. Once they had completed the chant and pointed their wands at the house, blue energy shot out from each of their wand tips and hit a now visible magic field around the house. The blue energy from their wands sparked on the domed enclosure around the house. Nothing seemed to happen for a few moments after until they noticed it slowly dissipating.

It reminded Draco of how Hogwarts looked that night when the teachers and various other witches and wizards, put up the wards to protect the students on the night of the battle, only backward this time. It had always looked as if someone was slowly burning a piece of parchment, or at least, that's what Draco thought.

After the wards finally appeared to have dissolved completely, Draco turned to Edmund.

"I think a team of Curse Breakers should inspect the inside of the Manor for more potentially dangerous objects just to be safe."

Edmund nodded. "I can round up my team to come through tomorrow if you'd like, but they will probably raise a fit about being paid."

"I can pay them 21 Galleons an hour, each if that works for you."

"I think that just might do. Draco, Mrs. Malfoy," Edmund said, tipping his head cordially. Edmund then apparated back to what Draco could only assume was the Ministry.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair and sighed loudly.

Narcissa put her hand on his shoulder.

"Draco, is something wrong my love?"

"I'm nervous."

"For what?"

"Tonight, I'm going to propose to Granger."

Narcissa scoffed "are you afraid she is going to say no?"

Draco shot his mother a look and shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid that I won't be able to make her happy. Ever. I don't expect her to fancy me, but I at least want her to feel comfortable and not completely miserable. All of this is my fault, after all."

Narcissa looked at her son sadly, "you did what you had to do for your family. And even if the world won't remember you as a 'war hero', I will forever remember you as my hero. You are my one and only son, and I couldn't be prouder of you," Narcissa kissed her son gently on the cheek.

"Thank you," Draco said softly, looking at the ground.

"Now," Narcissa said fixing her son's collar, "you should be getting ready for tonight. I trust that you have something planned?"

Draco grimaced, "I have a few ideas."

_**-HERMIONE-**_

Hermione Granger sat in the Library running her hands through her hair. She had nearly forced herself to get out of bed this morning, not wanting to see anyone. The entire student population of Hogwarts either looked at her out of pity, jealousy or discomfort. No one knew what to say to her and Hermione didn't want anyone to feel obligated to say anything in the first place.

It was already nearly 1 p.m. and Hermione had only been half paying attention to what she was reading. She groaned and slammed the book shut. She made her way to the Head Dorms, defeated. Before she dramatically flung herself onto her bed, she noticed a tapping noise coming from her window. She opened it to find a beautiful eagle owl holding a package.

"Thank you, "she whispered, feeding him a treat before he flew off.

The package was black with a beautiful shimmering silver ribbon that Hermione could've sworn was made of real silver. The package was so beautiful, she almost didn't want to open it.

_Almost_

Her curiosity got the best of her and she delicately opened the package. Inside was a short black cocktail dress. It looked formal, with its off the shoulder neckline and tulle design. It had long sheer sleeves, with delicate rose patterns embroidered on them. It was truly a breathtaking and no doubt expensive dress. She noticed a note attached to it as well.

_Granger,_

_I am taking you to dinner at 5 o clock. Please wear this. I trust you have suitable footwear._

_-D_

Hermione felt like calling him a prick for _telling _opposed to asking her to go to dinner, but the dress was stunning. It almost made her forgive him.

_Almost._

_A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter, I am currently out of town for a wedding and my genius brain forgot my laptop charger. I had to hurry and finish it so I could upload it onto my phone to post. I might post another chapter in a few days to make up for it _

_How do you guys feel so far?_

_~Jessinger_


	8. Chapter 7

_Beta: Grammarly, bitches._

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun._

_**Hermione felt like calling him a prick for telling opposed to asking her to go to dinner, but the dress was **_

_**stunning. It almost made her forgive him. **_

_**Almost.**_

_**CHAPTER 7**_

Hermione Granger stood in front of her mirror, rotating and twisting, trying to decide if she liked how she looked. It was undoubtedly the nicest dress she had ever worn, but she didn't necessarily enjoy the particular individual who had _asked _her to wear it. She sighed and brushed the nonexistent wrinkles out of it. It was 4:30 and Hermione had used half a bottle of Sleekeazy's and done her make up. She had to admit, she looked great and even felt a little bit excited. She knew that it wasn't a _date _per se, neither of them wanted to be on it, but it's the closest thing she ever had. Viktor and Ron hadn't counted, they never really went out and did anything. Hermione decided to pass the time by sitting in the Head's Common Room and reading her favorite book, _Hogwarts: A History._

After relaxing and reading for a while, Hermione heard the portrait door open and looked up over the pages of her book to see Malfoy standing in front of her.

Draco was wearing a black tailored suit vest with matching trousers. His white dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his forearms and he was wearing a gold and silver watch.

"Granger," he nodded politely as he gestured to the door

Hermione stepped out into the hall as Draco led her to Headmistress McGonagall's office. Once inside they were greeted by the witch. She didn't notice the two when they walked in, her eyes were fixed on the parchment in front of her as her quill scribbled across it.

Draco cleared his throat and she looked up.

"Malfoy."

"Headmistress. May we use the Floo?"

She set her quill down "Mr. Malfoy, we can give you special permissions to use the one in your common area as we discussed prior so you don't need to continue to interrupt me," she said, her mouth in a tight line.

Malfoy chuckled. "I think that's entirely up to her headmistress."

"Is that even allowed?" Hermione asked, her eyes growing wide

"With special permission Ms. Granger, almost anything is possible."

Hermione nodded, "I think that could be useful."

"Very well, as for the time being, yes you may use mine."

Draco entered the Floo first.

"Diagon Alley!"

Hermione followed him shortly after. She stepped out of the Floo as Draco held out his arm for her to take. She took it and followed him as he led her deeper into the alley.

"Where are we going?" she asked cautiously

"Supper." He said bluntly

"But where?"

"It's a restaurant named 'The Silver Goblet.' Very nice place with fantastic food. At least, in my opinion."

Hermione looked around and realized where she was. She planted her feet immediately and refused to move.

"Granger, what in the seven hells has gotten into you?" Draco asked

"I'm not taking another step forward. You think I wouldn't notice you taking me into _Knockturn Alley?!"_

A look of realization flashed across Draco's face.

"Granger, I'm trying to take you to dinner, not to your death."

"I'm _never _going in there."

"It's not like you haven't been here before Granger."

Hermione was taken aback by his words and looked confused momentarily.

"I knew you and the rest of your 'Golden Trio' followed me here during 6th year. You're not the only clever one here."

Hermione didn't say anything, she only stared back at him.

"I know I've done some horrible things in the past, to you and the rest of the wizarding world, but I would never put you directly in danger now. Times have changed."

Hermione seemed to relax a little and continued to follow him however, this time she didn't hold on to Draco. Instead, her hand hovered over part of her thigh, which he only assumed it was where she had hidden her wand.

Eventually, the mismatched pair arrived in front of 'The Silver Goblet'. It was a luxurious European style restaurant that most definitely fell into the category of fine dining. The face of the restaurant was relatively open due to the glass front. Parts of said windows were covered by a silver velvet curtain, but from what she could see from the dim candle lighting was spectacular.

"Shall we?" Malfoy asked her cordially, seeming to ignore the argument they had previously had.

Hermione nodded slightly, feeling a tinge of embarrassment for her accusation earlier in the night.

Malfoy opened the door and motioned for her to enter. It was truly a magnificent and beautiful restaurant, most likely the most beautiful one she had ever even seen. The waiter led her and Malfoy to a table in the back of the restaurant, secluded and separate from the others by a silver velvet curtain. The table was lit with a candle as well as several other floating candles above that reminded her of the Great Hall back at the school.

"Mr. Malfoy," a tall brunette waiter said after they were seated.

"Ice wine, Riesling, 1974 please Felix," Malfoy said to him

"Absolutely," the waiter who was now known as Felix to Hermione, said as he turned on his heel and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Ice wine?" Hermione asked

"What about it?" Malfoy replied raising an eyebrow

"What exactly is it?"

"A sweet wine. It's called ice wine because they leave the grapes on the vine well into the winter so that they are frozen when they are picked and pressed. It makes it taste sweeter. I chose the Riesling because I'm partial to the drier wine types" Malfoy replied casually

The waiter returned with the bottle of the white-colored wine and two wine glasses. They both thanked Felix as he poured both of their glasses and waited for him to leave until finishing their conversation.

"I just never took you for such a wine expert," she said taking a sip of the wine. He was right, it was rather sweet and she enjoyed it.

"Most people refer to that as alcoholism Ms. Granger."

Hermione almost spit out her drink at his response and dabbed her mouth with the napkin.

"Do you not like it?"

"No, no I do, I just didn't expect that response."

Malfoy chuckled, "well I could refer to myself as an _oenophile _which is technically the proper term, but that sounded like too much of a fetish category, so I went with something else.

"How do you know so much about wines? Especially considering you

Malfoy shrugged a bit, "my mother signed us up for a wine tasting club once a week once I turned of age. It was a special thing we did to get away from my father."

"Do you two still go?"

"Not as much anymore, after the war especially. But every once and a while we would have our house elf Mipsy bring us a bottle and we would socialize or do something."

Hermione's eyes widened at the mention of the word 'house elf'.

"You still have a house-elf?"

"Yes, of course, we've had Mipsy since before I was born, all of the Malfoy children have had one to help take care of them."

"You must be a fool if you think I will let you have a house-elf when we have children."

"Are you suggesting we _free _Mipsy?"

"Yes! She doesn't deserve to be a slave."

Malfoy stared at her as if she had grown another head, "I suppose that argument is for a later time."

Felix returned before Hermione could say anything else about the matter.

"Have any decisions been made?"

"Yes, I think that we are just going to stick to the 3-course meal opposed to the 7 tonight Felix. Can I get the fillet minion for the main course and we'll have whatever the special for dessert is tonight if that's alright?"

Felix only nodded in reply, "and for you miss?"

Hermione looked at him, not quite sure what to say.

"Uh..."

"It's alright Granger, get whatever you'd like, this is my treat," Malfoy said encouragingly

"Um, may I please try the ravioli in the white truffle sauce?"

Felix nodded once more and returned to the kitchen.

"White truffle? I wouldn't expect something that bold with you."

"I've never tried it. Quite frankly I'm not even entirely sure what I just ordered."

Malfoy looked at her and raised an eyebrow yet again

"To be honest Malfoy, this is the nicest place I've ever been, it's rather fancy and something that is very out of my price range."

"Price is not a concern of mine, and in a few months, it won't be a concern of yours either. I would also get used to it here, we will be eating here a lot in the future for our weekly dates."

"Weekly dates?"

"Yes, my father might have been a monster but my mother taught me how to treat a lady. I intend to use those lessons on my future wife, whether I have a choice in marrying her or not."

Hermione didn't quite know what to say.

"We haven't talked about the, erm, _arrangements _of our marriage yet. Like where we are going to live or how we will parent or-"

"We will be living at the Manor."

Before Hermione could reply, Felix placed the started salad in front of her. They remained silent during the first course of their meal until the main courses we placed in front of them. Hermione took a bite of her ravioli.

"Oh!"

Malfoy looked up at her, "do I need to send it back?"

"Oh no, it's delicious!"

"I'm glad," Malfoy said grinning.

They finished the rest of their meal in silence, save for the few comments about their food. Once they were finished, the tables were cleared, and the check was signed Draco finally spoke.

"Granger, I brought you here for a reason," he reached into his trouser pocket and produced the velvet box containing his family's no longer racist ring and dropped to his knee in front of her.

"Hermione? Will you marry me? Please say yes so we both don't get arrested."

"You and I both know we don't have any other choice," she said grimly

Draco snapped open the ring box and her eyes widened at the sight of the ring. Draco gingerly took it out of the box and placed it on her ring finger before kissing her hand softly and standing up. He offered her his arm.

"I have someone I would like you to meet."

Hermione was speechless as she stared at the ring, mesmerized with the sheer size of it.

"It's so big"

Malfoy giggled sheepishly, "unfortunately, it's the only big family jewels that I have."

"What is that supposed to mean?' She asked as they made their way into the Floo.

"Never mind Granger, maybe I'll tell you when you're older. Come on now, I'd like you to meet my mother."

"Malfoy, I know exactly what the joke meant, I just never thought I'd hear you admit you had a small pe-"

Draco immediately cut her off "Malfoy Manor!"

The pair disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

The two were so deep in conversation that they hadn't even noticed the flashing lights of a camera and the sound of a scribbling quill echoed throughout the alleyway, as the famed Queen of Quills drank in every last detail of the shocking engagement of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had unfolded before her.

Rita Skeeter had gotten herself quite the story.

_**A/N: Leave me a review of what you'd like to see next!**_


	9. Chapter 8

Beta: Grammarly, bitches.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just here for fun.

_**The famed Queen of Quills drank in every last detail of the shocking engagement of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had unfolded before her. **_

_**Rita Skeeter had gotten herself quite the story.**_

_**CHAPTER 8**_

Hermione stood in the study of Malfoy Manor in awe of what she saw. Countless rows and rows of giant bookshelves full of books. A couch in the corner next to a perfectly placed window, as well as candles to light the room. What caught her eye the most was a beautiful mahogany wood French roll top desk with a matching chair. She began to take a step out of the Floo until Draco stopped her.

"Be careful what you touch Granger," he warned.

"Why?"

Draco didn't know for sure what cursed objects, more specifically books, remained in the library, the curse breakers would be over in the morning to make sure the manor was clear.

"Just do as I say for once?"

Hermione ignored his comment and circled the study admiring it. It was as impressive as the one at Hogwarts, just on a smaller scale.

Narcissa Malfoy strolled into the study with a martini glass full of gin.

"Oh dear! I didn't even hear you two come in! Mipsy," she snapped her fingers and the small house-elf appeared with a loud popping noise, "could you please our guests a drink?"

Hermione had opened her mouth in protest but Mipsy had disappeared before she could say anything. Malfoy could see where this was going.

"Granger, I assure you, Mipsy does not mind working here in the slightest. She would be heartbroken if we freed her."

Hermione put her hands on her hips, "I doubt that Malfoy."

When Mipsy returned, Draco looked at the small house elf.

"Mipsy? How would you like to be free?"

Mipsy started wailing and pulling at her large bat-like ears, her wide eyes glistening with tears.

"Nooooo Mipsy does not want to be free! Mipsy is a good house-elf! Mipsy loves her Masters and Mistresses!"

She ran to Draco and began hugging his legs, her face buried in the fabric of his trousers. Draco stuck a hand out to comfort the house elf.

"Mipsy, we won't free you. I was just trying to help Ms. Granger understand that you enjoy it here."

Mipsy hiccupped, "Mipsy likes it here very much. Masters and Mistress treat Mipsy very nice."

"Mipsy, that will be all. You can take the rest of your night to yourself," Narcissa said to her

Mipsy nodded and was gone with a snap of her fingers and a POP.

There was an awkward silence that hung between the three of them before Narcissa spoke up.

"Well! Welcome to our home, Ms. Granger! I assume my son is showing you around your soon-to-be home?"

Draco cleared his throat, "Granger and I haven't discussed whether or not she will be living here. It's up to her."

Hermione looked between the two of them, her eyes wide.

"I don't think would be a good idea. Given the events that took place in the east wing," she said uncomfortably.

Narcissa waved her hand, "then we will just tear it down."

"Excuse me?" Hermione and Draco both said in stunned unison.

"Hermione dearest, come with me." She held out her hand to the young witch. Hermione took it awkwardly, unsure of the entire situation. Narcissa led the two towards the east wing of the manor, a glass of Gin in her left hand and Hermione in her right. She stopped in the doorway of the drawing-room where Bellatrix Lestrange tortured her in an attempt to get information out of her. She shuttered and clutched at her arm, still remembering the pain she had caused. Narcissa dropped Hermione's hand and pulled her wand from her robes.

"_Confringo!" _She yelled, pointing her wand at a random piece of furniture. The chair exploded in response. She turned to face Hermione

"Go on now dear, try it!"

Hermione and Draco stood there in silence as they watched the armchair burning. Neither of them knew what to think. Had Narcissa Malfoy _finally _flew off the handle and decided to destroy the furniture in her house? Should they stop her? Should they help her? Should they ignore it and blame it on the Gin? All were equally acceptable choices to make, they were just unsure which story others would be the most convincing when someone began asking questions.

Draco was the first one to pull out his wand after several minutes.

"_Confringo."_

_**-ONE HOUR LATER-**_

The three wizards stood there, staring at the ashes of what was once the furniture and decor of the Malfoy Manor's drawing-room. Narcissa was wearing a smile, while the other two had a look of both shock and mild confusion painted across their faces.

"Mother? What in the _bloody hell?" _Draco asked, "what did we just do?"

"What? We are redecorating and quite frankly, I've been wanting to do that for _years _now," she turned to face her son and cupped his cheek with her hand, "I would burn this entire house to the ground to scorch out the memories of your father, but the moments of you growing up in this manor stop me every time. I just had a better reason to destroy this one." Without turning back and looking at the room, she raised her opposite hand and closed it into a fist. The destroyed room collapsed onto itself with a cloud of dust and a low rumble. She smiled at her son and exited the room.

Hermione was the first to break the silence.

"I didn't know your mother could do wandless magic."

"Neither did I."

"I think its time I go back to Hogwarts"

Malfoy nodded silently and walked her back to the Floo. He watched her grab a fistful of the powder and step inside.

"Hogwarts Head Common Room!"

_**-THE NEXT MORNING-**_

The next morning Draco awoke to sunlight streaming into his bedroom windows. He rolled over to look at the small clock that sat on his nightstand.

_8:00_

He groaned and rolled out of bed. The curse breakers would be arriving soon. He showered and dressed and began making his way down to the kitchen. To his surprise, when he opened his bedroom door, he saw several ministry workers bustling around his house, using magic to levitate random objects into various large black chests. One of the wizards dropped an object a bit too hard into one of the chests and caused a small explosion. The chest started on fire in a shower of sparks.

"Oi! Do you even know what you're doing! Bloody hell!" Malfoy yelled.

"What in the gods is going on over here," a familiar voice snapped, "Evans! Use your bloody head!"

Draco turned around to see the one and only Edmund Harper yelling at his fellow curse breaker for his ignorance. Evans blushed and extinguished the flames with a simple spell, running off before Edmund could yell at him again.

"Harper! Good to see you again mate," Draco said holding out his hand to the wizard.

"Likewise," he grinned, "sorry about my colleague, most of these blokes are gits with nothing between their ears. Things would be handled much differently if I was the one in charge here."

"you're not?"

"No, I'm still waiting on that promotion, it's been a few years and Shacklebolt hasn't given it to me yet."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I've even designed new containers for cursed items as well as several charms. Unfortunately, I very much lack the galleons to back it up."

Draco thought for a moment. Edmund was an excellent curse breaker, very dedicated to his job and a natural-born leader. If anyone should be leading the division, it should be him.

"I'll tell you what, if you show me what you got, we might be able to strike up a deal. Are you busy next Saturday?"

"I am now," Edmund said grinning.

There was a crash from somewhere down the hall and the sound of shattering glass.

"I swear I will make your life hell Evans!"

Malfoy would have to talk to Kingsley about a few things the next time he had the displeasure of meeting with him. Malfoy made his way to the front yard of the Manor. The tulips were in full bloom thanks to his mother's magic. It was a rather beautiful morning, the sun was shining, his racist house was getting cleaned out and half destroyed. His mother was eager for the last part, she was currently trying to get ahold of some sort of interior decorator to help her redecorate. Malfoys thoughts were interrupted by his eagle owl dropping a copy of _The Daily Prophet _in front of him. Much to his surprise, the front page was pasted with a picture of him and Granger in Knockturn Alley shortly after their engagement.

_**Gold-digging Granger Bags a Malfoy!**_

Malfoy skimmed the article.

_Hermione Granger, a former romantic interest of the famous Harry Potter, has managed once again to steal the heart of another well-known wizard, Draco Malfoy. Granger has a history of going after the Wizarding World's most wealthy and eligible bachelors, chasing galleons and power. Will the heir to the Malfoy family fortune discover her motives or has he been blinded by love?_

Draco snorted, what a ridiculous article. Anyone with half a brain could recognize that all though the pair didn't loathe each other as much as they once had, they didn't get along. His eyes skimmed down to the bottom to see who had written such ludicrous statements.

_By Rita Skeeter_

"Bloody hell," he whispered under his breath, he should've known. Rita Skeeter had always had some sort of disdain towards her ever since the Tri-Wizard Tournament. She had left her alone for a good bit, up until now that is.

"Mipsy!"

The house-elf appeared with a loud pop.

"Send a letter to my lawyer."

_**-Hermione-**_

Hermione was sitting in the Head's common room with her friends, playing a game of wizard chess with Ron. She was currently winning. Harry was sitting on the couch watching the two, commentating. Hermione had given Ginny and the boys the password to the portrait in case of emergencies. Now, the three of them often came down to see Hermione after class or during a break.

"Ron you could've taken her knight. Now she is going to use her rook to take yours."

"Shut up Harry! You're distracting me! I have a plan!" Ron snapped back at him

"Was your plan to lose miserably?"

They were interrupted by Ginny rushing into the room. She flung a copy of _The Daily Prophet onto_ Hermione's lap.

"What is this?" Hermione asked

"Read the title. It looks like our little friend is back at it again." Ginny said clenching her fists angrily.

_**Gold-digging Granger Bags a Malfoy!**_

"That _witch!" _Hermione said jumping to her feet. Her friends and housemates already knew she was engaged and had seen the ring. She had decided to not wear it unless she was out in public or around the Ministry members. She didn't want to normalize arranged marriages or support them, but she also didn't want to start another war with them either.

"What are we going to do?" asked Ginny

"I'm...I'm not sure. Is there anything we _can _do?"

"Surely there has to be something," Harry said with Ron nodding in agreement

They were all so concerned and caught up in their conversation that they hadn't noticed the portrait door open. Malfoy strolled in, _The Prophet _clutched in his hand. He leaned up against the door frame casually, watching the scene in front of him unfold.

"You got her to stop once before 'Mione, you can do it again right?" Ron asked

"Its already been taken care of Granger. I had Mipsy contact my lawyer." Malfoy drawled causally

"Bugger off Malfoy! You're probably the one who paid Rita to write the article!" Ron yelled

Malfoy sighed "and what would I gain from that Weasel?"

Ron's face turned bright red and he balled his fists.

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, Ferrett."

Malfoy took a step closer to him

"Or what? What would you possibly do about it?"

Ron took a step forward as if he was going to hit Malfoy before his sister grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Good choice," Malfoy said dryly. He walked past the group and glanced at the chessboard.

"Oh and Weasel? I believe that's checkmate," he mocked as he made his way up the stairs.

"Draco Malfoy!"

Malfoy stopped as the voice of a furious Hermione Granger echoed across the room. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at her, knowing against his better judgment that it would probably make things entirely worse.

"Can you try and be civil for one moment!"

"Sorry, no can do Love. Your _pet _here has quite the temper and I don't like it."

"You are such a prat! How can you go from being tolerable one moment to a loathsome, pathetic, spoiled little brat?" she shouted

Malfoy took a step off of the stairs, "excuse me? I'm the one being the prat? You have been nothing but insufferable since the day we got here! One moment you play nice, the next you flip it around and become an absolute hag! I have tried my best to get along, to be nice, to make this unfortunate engagement as easy for you as possible and you, in turn, make my life a living hell!"

Hermione turned as red as the Weasel's hair and you could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears.

"Oh, I'm so sorry that I didn't react well to being forced into a marriage with you! It must be so much easier for you, considering you have known about this whole predicament _and _partnership for probably months now! But you're correct, why shouldn't I fancy an absolute wanker of a man trying to make up for nearly 8 years of torture _with a dinner!"_

"You should be glad I'm even trying at all! I could be trying my best to make this as awful as possible for you but instead, I'm trying my best to make this work! I apologize they don't make a self-help book titled _How to Make a Nightmare of a Woman Your Wife in Ten Easy Steps!"_

"You're only trying Malfoy because you don't want to end up in Azkaban like your father!" Ron yelled

"RONALD!" Hermione yelled

Malfoy's head snapped to the Weasley, his eyes burning in fury, "get the fuck out of my room, all three of you."

Harry, Ginny, and Ron all stood there, watching Hermione and Draco stare each other down. Hermione finally turned her head and nodded at the trio, motioning for them to leave. They hesitantly agreed and shuffled out of the portrait door and into the hallway.

"You're a git Malfoy."

"You're a know-it-all witch."

"You're like a dog with two dicks."

"Don't be jealous just because you are a prude virgin."

Hermione crossed her arms, "I'd much rather be called a prude than like yourself who goes around shagging half the woman in the school."

"You think you are so much better than everyone else Granger, just because you are 'the brightest witch of our age' or some shit, doesn't make you above anyone else. You are in the same boat as the rest of us, no special treatment because you saved the world."

"You're such a git."

"A rich, successful, handsome sex god of a git nonetheless."

"Oh, fuck you!"

"Trust me, Granger, I know you want to," Malfoy turned and walked back up the stairs, not looking back at the fuming woman at the bottom of them.

"What a_ lovely_ girl," he mumbled to himself.

_**~A/N: And that's a wrap! It's a little bit longer of a chapter to make up for my shorter one previously. Let me know what you've liked so far, like to see more of, and like to see less of!**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: All Characters and canonical plots belong to J.K. Rowling, I'm just here for fun**_

_**Follow me on Twitter jessinger6 for pictures, updates and feel free to DM your questions or just overall comments and I will respond!**_

_**-CHAPTER 9 -**_

Draco Malfoy stared at the ceiling of his dorm room. He was almost too furious to sleep and had been lying in the same position for the last several hours contemplating the things that had been said earlier in the evening between him and Granger. He had tried his best to make things work but lo and behold, the insufferable smart-arse of a witch had made it difficult to hold a halfway decent conversation once again. He hated arguing with her because she was one of the few people in this world that could keep up with him. He hated that. He practically hated just about everything about her. And to think he went to all of that trouble to clean out his house of cursed family heirlooms just to keep her safe. The only reason she would be living with him was that he refused to allow his children to grow up in two households. He wanted to be just as much of an active part in their lives as she was and he didn't want their childhood to include traveling back and forth between the manor and god knows where Granger would be living. He was also fairly certain the ministry would have a conniption at the mere idea of it.

He wanted to build something new for himself and his mother and re-forge the Malfoy family name. He wanted to create something that did some good rather than some evil. And that's exactly where Edmund came into play. With Malfoy's money and inclination to create new spells and charms and Edmunds knowledge and prototypes for curse breaking, they could build a company that would do great things. He had a nearly flawless business plan and the idea of starting over made him want to start everything right away. He unfortunately still had several more months of school left even though he had gotten over halfway through his schooling last year before Voldemort had attacked. Maybe there was a way to convince the Ministry to come up with some sort of plan for the students that were affected last year.

Malfoy tossed again in his bed. All he wanted was for everything to be over and for his life to start. Something to go according to his plan, something he wanted. He sat up and groaned. He decided that it would be a good idea to venture down to the small kitchenette located downstairs in the common room before he attempted to sleep. He contemplated throwing on pants or a nightshirt on before leaving but decided against it. He hadn't heard the Gryffindor Princess leave her room since she had slammed gone to bed a few hours ago, so pajama pants it was. He padded down the stairs towards the kitchenette, a Lumos charm cast on his wand for light.

It was just his luck to find Granger sitting on the counter drinking a mug of something in a nightgown. She turned red upon seeing him enter the room. But her being the person she was, refused to move or leave.

"Do you mind Granger?"

"Do you mind Malfoy?"

Malfoy sighed, not wanting to fight "Granger, I'm just trying to get some water."

Hermione, still furious from previous events, still wouldn't budge.

"Practically naked? Hmph. Not much to see anyway Malfoy."

'Alright, you want to play this game then?' Malfoy thought

"Fine Granger, you win." Malfoy stepped closer to her and reached for the cabinet right behind her. They were practically nose to nose now as he slowly opened the cabinet and reached for a glass.

"Aguamenti," he said softly, pointing his wand at the glass.

Hermione turned even redder but she stood, or rather sat, her ground and refused to budge.

"Do I make you nervous Granger?" Malfoy whispered in her ear, setting the now full water glass off to his right. Malfoy heard her take a sharp breath before replying.

"No."

He put his hand on her knee

"What about now?"

"The opposite."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow in question. Hermione reached her hand out and laid it on his bare chest.

"Am I making you nervous, Malfoy?"

"The opposite, Darling."

She put both of her hands on his chest. He retaliated by sliding his hand up the inside of her leg, stopping at her upper thigh.

"I can't bloody stand you, woman," Malfoy said

"Likewise."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close so their lips were almost touching. She could feel his hot breath and soft lips on hers. She closed her eyes and just for a brief moment, for just one second, she imagined that they were two different people in a different timeline. That they didn't hate each other, that they weren't about to be forced into a relationship that was now well-publicized in tabloids. And she wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel something other than frustration and anger that was directed at the Ministry and that damned Rita Skeeter. She wanted her life back, she wanted to rebuild everything that Voldemort and his followers tore down. She wanted Fred, Remus, Sirius, and Tonks back. She wanted a world that she wanted to proudly be a part of, she wanted to be a part of something bigger, something in her control for once. She wanted things to be different.

Malfoy moved his hand to her hip, not breaking eye contact with her.

"Thanks for the water Granger," he said reaching for the cup he had set on the counter off to his right. He turned around and walked back to his room without looking back. She wanted to break every glass in that cabinet. She hated whatever internal struggle she was having, it was a battle she was for sure losing, no matter what outcome she wanted. She signed and looked at the floor. She hopped down off the counter and went up to bed. She needed to get some decent sleep if she expected herself to get anything done.

-THE NEXT MORNING-

Draco could already tell by the direction his morning was heading, he would not be particularly enjoying his day. Between spilling a glass of pumpkin juice on his shirt this morning and his mismatched socks, he didn't know if he should even bother showing up to first period. He decided against skipping and walked int the potions room, setting his bag down next to Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and the rest of the Slytherins in the back row.

"Rough morning, Drake?" Blaise asked shooting him a smirk.

"Something like that," he mumbled

"Is it because your fiancée is only in it for the money?"

"Gods I wish. That woman is insufferable no matter what I do."

"Don't hold your breath mate, we have this class with the Gryffindors today."

Draco groaned and laid his head down onto the table. The class was full at this point, signaling for Professor Slughorn to begin.

"Today we will be brewing a potion from the Advanced Potion-Making textbook," he said, "some of you may remember making this potion during your 6th year. Since it was only a select few of you, all of you will be participating this time, however. Today's potion is the Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Since this potion is rather difficult to brew, you may choose to pair up or on your own. However, if you do choose to pair up, it will have to be with someone of my choosing."

Many of the students groaned in response to that last part because this was one of the more challenging potions to brew.

"Does anyone wish to work alone?"

No one raised their hands. That wasn't particularly shocking.

"Wonderful!" Slughorn said clapping his hands together

"Potter, you are with Mr. Zabini. Ms. Parkinson, you will be with Mr. Weasley. Neville with Ms. Greengrass. Mr. Malfoy with Ms. Granger."

Bloody buggering fuck.

"Seamus with Mr. Nott."

Slughorn kept going until everyone had been paired with someone of the opposite house.

"Go ahead and get started, everyone! You have 1 and a half hours to complete the potion. The pair with the least amount of side effects gets extra credit!" Professor Slughorn said with more enthusiasm than Draco wanted at that moment. Malfoy groaned and hit his head on the table once again.

"You okay Drake?" Blaise asked

"No. I'm hoping to hit my head hard enough that I die and can avoid this entire situation. Possibly knock me out, but that is less ideal."

"Malfoy if you are done being a drama queen, I'd like to start our potion."

Draco lifted his head from the table and saw Hermione standing in front of him with her arms crossed. He groaned again remembering their previous fight. He stood up and started grabbing ingredients while she grabbed stirring rods, a cauldron, and various other supplies. Draco began skimming his copy of Advanced Potion-Making and got to work.

"Add Shrivelfig until the potion turns turquoise." Malfoy dropped the Shrivelfig into the cauldron and waited for the change.

"Stir until it turns blue," Malfoy began stirring before until Hermione grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a potion Granger what does it look like?"

"Like you're doing it wrong. Here do it like this," she grabbed the rod from his hand and began stirring it the opposite direction. The potion turned blue and she removed the rod.

"We just have to wait 8 minutes for it to turn yellow. Make sure it's simmering too."

After a while, the mixture turned a sunshine yellow signaling that it was time to add the Porcupine quills. The mixture then turned blue. Draco read over the rest of the potion again.

5\. Allow the potion to simmer for 12 minutes until it turns purple.

6\. Stir four times anti-clockwise.

7\. Add seven Sopophorous beans.

8\. Allow the potion to simmer for 17 minutes until it turns brown.

9\. Add shrivelfig until the potion turns pink.

10\. Allow the potion to simmer until it turns orange.

11\. Add Wormwood until the potion turns yellow.

12\. Stir six times anti-clockwise.

The potion had just turned pink and Draco realized it was nearing the end of class he wasn't concerned, they still had just enough time to finish without rushing. Granger grabbed a handful of Wormwood and was about to add it to the cauldron before Draco grabbed her wrist.

"Let go of me you prat!" she hissed

"No! You're about to botch the potion Granger!"

It was too late though; she had already let some Wormwood drop into the cauldron. Draco noticed the potion bubbling aggressively and pulled Hermione into his chest as he tried as best he could to shield Hermione from the exploding cauldron. The pink liquid went flying everywhere. It was in his hair, her clothes, on the ceiling and had transformed into some horrendous green goo in the bottom of the cauldron. To put it simply: it was a royal mess. This, of course, sparked yet another argument between the two that went on until Professor Slughorn interrupted them.

"Both of you will be serving detention for being negligent to your potion causing this awful mess. You will meet me here tonight at 6:00 pm to clean this entire room and scrub all of these cauldrons. I have to say, I am both surprised and disappointed in your behavior. Class is dismissed."

Unfortunately for them, Slughorn only taught potions once on Mondays meaning this whole mess would be left for them to clean up. They both angrily grabbed their bags and headed to their next class. Draco breathed a sigh of relief knowing that his next class didn't include Granger, giving him the perfect opportunity to cool down.

Class finished for the day and 6:00 rolled around quite promptly for the two. Draco made his way down to the potions room and unsurprisingly, Granger was already standing there. Early as usual. Before Draco could open his mouth to make a snide, offhanded comment, the door opened and the pair were greeted by Slughorn. He motioned for them to come inside.

"You two will be cleaning this entire room, top to bottom as well as cleaning all of the cauldrons. The cleaning also included the supply closet so be mindful and careful when it comes to the dusting. When you are finished, ring this bell 3 times," he reached into his robes and pulled out a small silver bell and handed it to Hermione, "I will also need both of your wands and don't even think about attempting wandless magic. I bewitched the room so you can't. All of the cleaning supplies you will be needing are over on that table," he held out his hands and the two of them placed their wands into his hand. They stood there awkwardly.

"I suggest getting started."

Slughorn exited the room and they hear the door lock behind him. The two of them were locked in a room without magic for what they assumed were the next few hours of their lives. They scrubbed the walls and the floors as well as dusted the ingredient cabinet. All that was left was the cauldrons. They sat down at a table with their scrub brushes and got to work in silence. About 30 minutes in, it was Draco who finally said something.

"Look, Granger, I'm sorry I raised my voice at you. I was only trying to prevent," he motioned around the room with his scrub brush, "this".

Hermione didn't say anything, she just continued to scrub away at her cauldron attempting to rid it of the foul green goo that was caked to the bottom. Draco threw his hands in the air.

"Granger, I'm trying to be civil. But every time I do, you make things worse or just ignore me completely. I've spent so much time on you and trying to make this whole mess work for you to not reciprocate it. I'm done with you and all of this, you're just a selfish bitch who thinks she all that just for saving the world."

Hermione turned to him, furious. She stood up from her chair abruptly and put her hands on her hips. Draco did the same not knowing what to expect next. She jammed her finger into his chest.

"You have no idea what this is like for me. I had dreams and plans, and now I have to throw it all away to be some sort of trophy wife and sit on my arse all day long."

"Who said anything about you being a trophy wife?"

"Oh, don't give me that rubbish. I don't want to be a Malfoy housewife."

"Granger, I don't expect you too! Where did you even get that idea! I assumed you were going to work for the Ministry following graduation."

"I thought I was too until this marriage law came about. I don't know if I want to be working for the people who forced an arranged marriage law."

"You can work for me."

"No."

Draco raised his hands in exasperation. "I seriously can't win here. You're such a hag."

"Shut up!"

"I'm telling the truth! You're difficult just for the sake of being difficult!"

She grabbed him by the tie and pulled him closer. She surprised herself when she kissed him. Not in a bad way but not in a good way either. She was surprised that Malfoy didn't shove her away or protest, he only returned the favor by threading his fingers through her hair. He eventually untangled his fingers and grabbed her by the hips, lifting her. She, in turn, wrapped her legs around his midsection as he moved the cauldrons to the side and set her down on the table. He grabbed her face and continued to kiss her fiercely. He didn't want to stop, so he didn't. She started tugging his vest over his head and she did shortly after. She loosened his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt. She laid her hands on his bare chest as he slowly leaned her back onto the tabletop. He pulled away and brushed a stray piece of hair from her forehead. His thumb stroked her cheek gently as he looked at her. The clock in the corner startled the two of them and they broke apart. It was already 8:00 and they still had a few more cauldrons to do before they could head back to the dorms. Hermione cleared her throat and smoothed out her shirt as Draco silently buttoned his and tugged his best back on. He straightened his tie, not making eye contact with her. They finished the rest of the cauldrons without a word and rung the bell, signaling to Slughorn that they had finished.

Once they had their wands back, Hermione practically ran out of the room to the Head's dorms. Malfoy looked around the room and sighed. He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and headed towards the Slytherin dorms. He was surprised to see Blaise still up, reading a book on the couch. He looked up at Draco and then returned his gaze to whatever he was reading.

"Rough night?" he asked without looking up from his book again

"Can you tell?"

Blaise looked up at him and scoffed, "your hair is sticking up in several directions and your shirt is buttoned crooked. It reminds me of the first night we snuck in a bottle or 3 of Firewhiskey and partied. So yeah, you look a bit, rough mate."

Malfoy chuckled, "that was quite the night if I remember correctly."

"I'm surprised you even remember at all. I think that was the night you lost your virginity to... oh what was her name?"

"Vanessa."

"Ah yes, that was it. Those were the days, weren't they? I take it you've been having Granger problems?"

Draco took a seat on the couch and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, I just need a way to get her off of my mind. I wanted to make things work in the beginning but I'm slowly realizing it's just easier to forget about it until the wedding."

"well, let me know, I know of a few witches that would love to help," Blaise said grinning.

"Noted," Draco said grimacing slightly.

"I'll leave you to it mate," Blaise said, shutting his book and heading up to bed.

Draco curled up on the couch, not wanting to think about anything. He finally drifted off to sleep after laying there for a while.

_**A/N: if you have sent me a PM and haven't gotten a response, it's because my inbox hasn't been working. Follow me on Twitter jessinger6 for pictures, updates and feel free to DM your questions or just overall comments and I will respond!**_

_**~Jessinger**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: All Characters and canonical plots belong to J.K. Rowling, I'm just here for fun**_

_**This chapter DOES contain direct quotes from The Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, written by J.K. Rowling. Not mine.**_

_**All pictures on Instagram jessingerfanfic**_

_**My Christmas gift to you. Enjoy :)**_

-CHAPTER 10-

Draco woke up the next morning on the couch in the Slytherin common room. He sat up and stretched his back, already feeling the deep ache in his muscles. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, remembering last night's events.

"_I'm done with you and all of this; you're just a selfish bitch who thinks she all that just for saving the world." _

Draco winced, remembering the harshness of his words towards the Gryffindor Princess. He hadn't meant them, at least, not all of them. He had to admit that he was over the game that they had been playing. He knew somewhere in his heart that he would never win her favor, nor would she be happy with their marriage as long as she was married to him.

He hoisted himself up from the couch and made his way back to the Head's Dormitory. His hands were shoved into his trouser pockets, his head down, counting his steps. He struggled to understand his feelings as he muttered the password to the portrait door. It swung open with a loud creaking noise.

There was no sign of Granger in the living area, meaning she was somewhere else or hiding up in her room. Either way, he was glad. He didn't want to see her. He didn't want to have anything to do with her right now; he needed a break. He flopped himself down onto the couch and sighed, staring up at the ceiling, wishing that maybe the castle would give him some answers. When that didn't work, he decided that maybe that the answer would lie at the bottom of a glass of Firewhiskey

He walked over to their kitchenette and reached for a glass. The glass slipped from the cupboard and fell. He attempted to catch it before it made contact with the counter, only making things worse as it shattered into a million jagged pieces. He felt a sharp sting on the palm of his left hand. He looked down at the long cut that was now actively bleeding quite a lot. The blood dripped down his arm, and his eyes wandered to the ugly Dark Mark that was etched into his skin. He watched the blood drip down the tattoo as he felt an unpleasant memory tickle at the back of his mind. He tried to prevent it from rearing its ugly head without success.

"_Draco, Draco, you are not a killer, Dumbledore said, smiling softly at him _

"_How do you know? You don't know what I'm capable of, "you don't know what I've done!" _

These words echoed in his head with an unwillingness to be ignored or pushed to the side

He remembered Dumbledore's voice as they stood there in the tower that night. He spoke so mildly, it was almost as if he knew what the outcome of that night was before it happened, and he had accepted it. He sounded like he had seen the future and had made plans. It was only later, during the battle, when he had learned the truth. Dumbledore knew he was dying and had arranged his death with Snape. That was the most unnerving thing about that night, look in that man's eyes and the tone of his voice when faced with certain death.

"_It's you who should be scared!" He yelled, pointing his wand at the old wizard _

"_But why? I don't think you will kill me, Draco," the headmaster replied wisely. _

He felt himself shaking. He had to grip the counter to keep himself upright, which proved difficult because his hand and the bar were wet and slick with blood.

"_Well done, Draco, well done!" _

That was the day the world practically ended. The day that one of the best headmasters Hogwarts had ever scene was killed. That was the spark that had started the wildfire of the Second Wizarding War, the day Voldemort had infiltrated Hogwarts. And it was all his fault; he was the reason it all happened.

"_Severus…please…" Dumbledore pleaded _

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Draco shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out the memory of the green flash of light.

"_Harry Potter is dead!" _

He remembered how small Potter looked cradled in Hagrid's arms that day. It was in that instant that he remembered: they were all just kids. Kids were fighting, dying, and suffering in a war that should've ended before it had even started. It was at that moment; Draco came to terms with everything that he had done. It wasn't like he had much choice in doing it in the first place or had he even wanted to, but he didn't even realize the things he had been doing to keep himself and his mother alive at his father's expense.

"_The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy." _

Draco felt his stomach drop to the floor once again. He remembered the Dark Lord's words, saying he would "attend" to after he had killed Potter. Draco knew deep down that it meant he would kill him. He remembered the panic on his face when Potter told him that he had overpowered him weeks ago, that he had lost, the Elder Wand belonged to Harry Potter. He was going to lose, and he knew it. Potter inevitably would best him once again.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _

"_Expelliarmus!" _

He recalled the relief that washed over him as Voldemort's body crumpled to the ground, unmoving. His father had gathered both him and his mother. They were huddled in the corner of the Great Hall, listening to Lucius as he muttered frantically to them.

"_We will claim we were all Imperiused, we can clear our family name after the trial," his father said _

_Narcissa drew her arm around her only child and held him close, a gesture that Draco took much comfort in. _

"_No." _

"_Excuse me? We have no other choice! We will all go to Azkaban and receive The Kiss if we don't! We can claim we were forced, make up some rubbish tale averting the blame from us! We can move to our cottage in France, all three of us, and start over!" _

"_The only person going to Azkaban, Lucius, is you," Narcissa said _

"_Narcissa-" _

"_You dug yourself this hole and drug the two of us into it. You put my child in danger. You tried to ruin our lives as we blindly followed you. I don't care if I get locked away as well, Draco will not be a part of this whatsoever. Take your wand and shove it straight up your arse Lucius." _

Draco was pulled from his memory when he felt something touching him. It was a soft and gentle touch, rubbing his back. It was something his mother frequently did to him when he was a child to soothe him. She did it a lot during the war too.

"Malfoy?"

He looked over his shoulder to find that the hand belonged to Granger. Her eyes were wide and full of concern.

"What on Earth did you do?" she said quietly.

"I-I-I broke a glass."

Draco looked down to see that the counter was now slick with his blood; it was smeared along his arm on his Dark Mark as well as on his hand.

"I didn't realize..." he muttered, staring at his hand.

He turned back to face her. She looked scared.

"Malfoy, are you okay?"

That was what finally broke him. Those four simple words, words he hadn't been asked since before the war. Words he never thought he would hear again. He was a war criminal. He was a murder. He was a liar, a thief, and a coward. He made a charm to force shell-shocked children into a mandated marriage for the sake of saving his own hide. He walked around, acting as if the past was behind him as if he was coping like all of the rest of his classmates when, in reality, there was barely a day that went by where it didn't cross his mind. Some days were better than others; some days, he could push them to the side before they overtook him like the one had minutes before. He was a monster. He deserved Azkaban, and he deserved worse. But instead, he was fighting for a new life, a new beginning that he didn't deserve.

"Granger I-" was all he could say before he felt the tears begin streaming down his face.

He grabbed her without thinking and pulled her close as he began to sob, loud, ugly sobs that wracked his body. He couldn't feel his legs, and he was sure that if she weren't there, he would inevitably collapse. He sobbed until his throat felt as if it was bleeding, and his eyes burned. He could barely breathe as he felt the weight of his past bear down on him and crush the air from his lungs. He gripped the back of her shirt to keep himself from falling.

Draco had no idea how long he had cried for; he only knew that his voice was practically gone and that he felt absolutely awful. He finally pulled himself away from her and with his right hand, gently cupped her face. He looked her deeply in the eyes. They were wide and full of bewilderment.

"Granger, I am so sorry," he rasped out as best he could.

"Don't be."

Draco was taken back by her reply, "What?"

"Malfoy, I forgave you long ago."

"Why?" he croaked out

"You and your family are the reason we won the war. I mean, if you think about it."

"How?"

"You knew it was Harry when we were captured and brought to the Manor, but you said you didn't know. Your mother lied and said that Harry was dead when she _knew_ he was alive. We couldn't have won if Harry had been killed either of those times, it's thanks to you that he survived that."

He sniffed loud and detached himself from her, only to set himself onto the couch and was wracked with another set of sobbing. He buried his face in his hands. He felt the couch dip next to him as she sat down next to him. To his surprise, she pulled him close and laid his head down in her lap, gently stroking his hair. It was a comforting gesture, human contact. His father hadn't been the best at showing any affection, and her touch was far different from his mother's.

He liked it.

He wanted to feel it every day for the rest of their lives.

He knew he couldn't make her happy. He tried not to think about it; he only relished the moment that they were living in now.

**A/N: Explanation: I am so sorry I went on an unannounced hiatus! I've had a lot going on with work and have had some recent health problems that I am trying to cope with. I've decided to create an Instagram for those of you curious about some of the graphics of this story. I will be posting pictures of the ring, dress and various other new characters that will be popping up later in the series! Feel free to give me a follow for updates or DM as well! It's jessingerfanfic**


	12. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: All Characters and canonical plots belong to J.K. Rowling, I'm just here for fun**_

_**All pictures on Instagram jessingerfanfic**_

_**This chapter goes out to wanderlust_2025, thanks for following!**_

_-CHAPTER 11-_

He knew he couldn't make her happy. He tried not to think about it; he only relished the moment that they were living in now.

Their moment unfortunately only lasted for a moment before she pulled away from him. She didn't make eye contact with him; she only wordlessly walked towards the kitchenette and pulled her wand out, pointing it towards the shards of glass.

"_Reparo." _

She then turned to the counter and muttered a cleaning spell before pocketing her wand silently.

He opened his mouth to say something to her but was cut off by her walking up the stairs. He tried so hard so many times to not get too close, or to even make things right. It was starting to sound like a broken record of sorts, annoying and predictable. He needed a break, a night away from all of the chaos.

He made his way down to the Hospital Wing, knowing full well he could mutter a spell and fix his cut. He only needed a break from her.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Madam Pomfrey looked at the young wizard, her face concerned.

"I cut my hand, I'm fine," he said

"I see that. I'm only curious as to why you are here," she said, pulling out her wand and grabbing his hand gently.

She pointed her want intently at the cut, not looking up at him she said: "this looks like a laceration that you and I both know you are more than capable of healing on your own."

He didn't look up at her, "maybe I wanted your company."

She laughed dryly and put her wand away, looking pleased with her work.

"Everything will work out, Draco," she said to him.

Draco wouldn't meet her eyes as he rubbed the new scar that appeared on his palm

"Thank you," he said, turning on his heel and exiting the Hospital Wing.

Draco shoved his hands into his pockets and wandered the corridors. He didn't particularly feel like going anywhere besides the library, but he figured Granger had already claimed that space by now. So, he just wandered. His feet subconsciously took him to the Headmaster's office. A lump formed in his throat. He had a burning desire in his heart for months now. He gave in to his impulsive desires as he approached the stone gargoyle that stood guard to the stone staircase.

"Lemon Drop."

The sound of stone grinding on stone rand through the empty tower as the staircase appeared in front of him. He entered the office. It had remained unchanged since Dumbledore had died, and McGonagall had taken over as Headmaster. Even Fawke's cage sat empty in the corner, the door left open as if McGonagall had any shred of hope he would one day return. He grimaced, remembering the day Fawke's flew away and the sound of his lament ringing in his ears.

It had been his fault the phoenix had escaped; it was his fault Dumbledore was dead. He shook those thoughts from his head again, focusing on his reason to be here.

His eyes scanned the room and fell on to one portrait in particular. His Godfather's

Severus Snape.

Snape's portrait had appeared in the Headmaster's office shortly after he died. McGonagall and Potter wanted it moved into the gallery, but that caused quite a bit of an uproar, so they decided to wait on it a bit.

"Draco," he heard the portrait drawl.

"Snape."

"What brings you here, in this office of all places?"

"I wanted to speak to my godfather. I wanted to thank you for protecting me, for upholding my mother's promise. For everything," Draco said, exhaling audibly

"Your aunt Bella made sure that it was impossible to break the said promise, Draco."

"You still could've said no to my mother's initial request."

Draco knew full well of the agreement between the two, as well as the Unbreakable Vow. His mother told him after the war when he was discovered to be dead.

"Of course, I couldn't have! You're my godson for Salazar's sake!"

Snape hadn't been warmest godfather, but he was the best Draco had ever had, Draco missed him every day. It was the first time he had gone and seen him since he had died. Potter was kind enough to let him know both the whereabouts and existence of the portrait in the first place.

"I heard of your predicament with Ms. Granger. I am truly sorry that you had to be roped into this silly marriage law."

"It's my fault the law exists in the first place."

Snape raised an eyebrow before Draco recounted the events following the battle and his involvement with the law and the charm.

"I see," Snape said after he was finished speaking.

"She hates me even more now. She isn't going ever to forgive me, and this marriage isn't ever going to work."

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and find another way to fix it, Draco. You're better than this."

Draco knew Snape had a point; he just wasn't sure how to do that.

"How will I do that? I've told you I had tried everything!"

"And how am I supposed to know the answer to that? Hmm? I might possess the ability to read minds Draco but I do not claim to know much about witches. All I know is that I made the mistake of letting my temper get the best of me, and I lost a very important witch in my life due to it," he said, frowning.

"What witch?"

"That is no concern of yours," he said before his portrait froze again, ending their conversation.

Draco sighed and spun around, getting ready to leave before a voice called out to him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Albus Dumbledore had always had a mysterious twinkle in his eyes when he was alive. His portrait did that twinkle justice.

"Headmaster?"

"What seems to be the trouble, Draco? You look unwell."

Draco stood there, frozen in place, not wanting to move. He felt as if he had seen a ghost, and he had a familiar ache return to his chest.

Regret.

"Headmaster... I am so sorry."

Dumbledore looked puzzled, "And what for?"

"I-I-I killed you."

Dumbledore chuckled as if Draco had told him a joke.

"My dear boy, you are not the cause of my death."

"I am still the reason you are dead, and for that, I am truly sorry."

"Don't apologize for that! After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next greatest adventure. I told young Mr. Potter that same thing many years ago. Don't dwell on it, my boy. Besides, I think you best be going, I have a feeling your friend Mr. Zabini has other plans for you soon," he said, winking at him before going still just as Severus did.

Draco felt as if he was leaving more confused rather than with answered questions. He decided to heed Dumbledore's advice and make his way back to the Head's dorm. He mumbled the password and stepped inside.

He stood there, lost in his thoughts of the events that had transpired in the last few months.

The familiar tapping noise of an owl at his window broke the spell of him being sorry for himself. He immediately recognized the owl as one of Blaise's. He gave him a treat as he took the parchment from him and sent him on his way.

_Meet me in the dungeons at 6 pm. Dress to impress _

_~B.Z. _

_Dress to impress? What the hell did that even mean? _

He scoffed, unsure of how to respond, but knowing, either way, Blaise wouldn't take no for an answer. Draco looked at the clock.

_5:30 _

Damn! How long was he talking to the portraits?

He quickly showered and threw on some nice attire, an outfit similar to the one he wore on his and Hermione's date to The Silver Goblet. He hurried down to the dungeons, not wanting to keep Blaise waiting. Once he arrived, He saw a few of his old mates dressed similarly.

"Malfoy!" Blaise said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Zabini, what the hell are we doing?"

"My dear Draco, we are going clubbing!"

"Where on earth are we going to go clubbing?"

Blaise grinned, "A new club called _The Snake _just opened up in Diagon Alley, and we," Blaise motioned to the group, "are all going. What do you say?"

Draco looked at him. He was tired of feeling sorry for himself; he was tired of only thinking of Hermione 24/7. He missed the person he was before all of this. The man who was named The Slytherin Sex God, the man who knew how to party. The man who hadn't yet seen the terror of war or murder. The man who wasn't a criminal.

"What the hell, I'm in."

_-Gryffindor Common Room- _

Hermione was slumped across the couch, pretending to read, trying to forget last 24 hours and the events that had transpired between her and Malfoy. She tried to get rid of the memory of whatever had stirred in her when Malfoy kissed her during detention. Unsuccessfully, of course. She groaned and laid the open book across her face, half hoping the pages would smother her, and she would never have to see him again. She heard the portrait open but didn't bother looking up. She felt something being thrown at her. She sat up and admired the red dress that Ginny had thrown at her.

"What is this?" She asked

"It's what you're wearing tonight. A new club opened up and we are having a girl's night. You're coming."

Hermione opened her mouth to decline before shutting it again. She was tired of her pity party and thinking of Malfoy. Besides, she didn't want to go home and see him.

"What the hell, I'm in. What club is this?"

"It's called _The Snake."_

_**A/N: Y'all aint ready for the hilarity and shenanigans that will ensue. *evil laughter* Follow me on Instagram jessingerfanfic for pictures, story updates and sneak peaks!**_

_** I also am here to help with writer's block! Send me your stuff if you think it needs a second opinion!**_


	13. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: All Characters and canonical plots belong to J.K. Rowling, I'm just here for fun**_

_**All pictures and sneak peaks on Instagram jessingerfanfic**_

_-CHAPTER 12-_

"_What the hell, I'm in. What club is this?" _

"_It's called The Snake."_

_-DRACO-_

The club was hazy, but Draco couldn't smell any smoke. The unidentifiable music throbbed throughout the crowded club. People were dancing, drinking and all and all just enjoying themselves. He turned to Blaise.

"I'm going to get a drink; do you want anything, mate?" Draco shouted over the music.

"What?" Blaise shouted back

"Do you want a drink?"

"Hell yeah, mate!"

"Yeah? Your usual?"

Blaise just grinned and nodded.

Draco made his way over to the bar, pushing past the groups of dancing witches and wizards. After the war, he avoided crowded and loud places. They made him uneasy, but tonight, he decided that he was going to forget about it. The bartender acknowledged his presence, and Malfoy held up two fingers.

"Firewhisky, please."

Malfoy started a tab, and the bartender nodded and produced two glasses of the amber liquid, handing them across the bar.

He walked back over to the group and handed Blaise his drink. The two looked across the thrall of dancing witches and wizards and sipped their drinks.

"Are you going to ask one of them to dance?" Blaise yelled over the music

Draco chuckled "I'm not nearly plastered enough to do that yet."

"Well then, drink up, mate!"

Draco had eventually lost count of how many drinks the pair had ended up having. All he knew was it was a lot. His vision swam slightly, and he definitely couldn't ride a broom. It had been a while since he had been out and enjoyed himself. It felt nice.

-HERMIONE-

Hermione initially told herself she wouldn't have anything to drink. She wanted to stay sober and stay responsible tonight. Plus, she was a lightweight, so after a few drinks, the other would be carrying her home and holding her hair back as she vomited in an alleyway. But that entire plan had gone to shit when Ginny bought a round of Gigglewater. Hermione didn't even know they sold it outside of the wizarding United States.

Hermione initially didn't want to come out. She just wanted to sulk in her dorm room and read a book. Maybe take a bath. But no, she had just downed her 3rd shot of Gigglewater after being coerced by a very persuasive red-haired girl.

"Isn't this fun!" Ginny shouted as Hermione winced, and they slammed their now empty glasses on the bar.

"No," Hermione said bluntly.

Ginny was beginning to get tipsy, and Hermione knew how she got when she got drunk. She was a handful.

Ginny motioned to the bartender, "2 White Rat's, please."

"Gin, no! I don't like whiskey, and I don't like drinking!"

"Then, you clearly haven't had enough yet."

"What is the point of this little endeavor? What are you trying to accomplish?"

"I want YOU to stop moping! Sure, life is shit at the moment, but look at the bright side, you get to marry-"

"Forced. I'm being forced by the government to marry," Hermione interrupted her

Ginny ignored her, "you get to marry the richest man in all of the wizarding world! Think of all the books you could buy! And that the house is so big, you can just hide so he can never find you!"

Hermione looked at her as if she had gone mad. "You missed the part where I am being forced to reproduce with him."

Ginny looked at her as if she was having a hard time focusing on her face. "The man is attractive! And you know how you reproduce?" Ginny looked around and put her hand to the side of her mouth as if not to be overheard and loudly whispered, "Sex!"

"Ginevra Weasley!"

"What!"

Hermione shook her head, "You, my friend, need to drink some water."

-DRACO-

He was beginning to feel the alcohol taking full effect. His arms felt like lead, but he felt weightless at the same time. He and Blaise had found a table in the corner in the club and were finishing their drinks. Draco couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

"What's wrong?" Blaise asked

"Granger, I can't stop thinking about her. And I don't know why. She makes me so angry sometimes, and I can't figure her out."

"Mate, a woman like that is not to be figured out. New rule, no talking or thinking about Granger whatsoever tonight. We are in a club full of witches, and we don't need to dwell on it."

"We are also engaged men."

"Not by choice, so it doesn't really count. Something also tells me she isn't going to mind at all."

Draco only shrugged in response. He did have a point; there was no reason not to enjoy guys night. Blaise made his way to the dance floor, giving Draco a devilish grin. Draco laughed and followed him. He stopped, out of the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he'd seen a flash of that damn trademark Weasley red hair. No one was there when he turned, so he mentally blamed it on the alcohol.

-HERMIONE-

Ginny spun her around on the dance floor. She had finally, after much convincing, took a few more shots with Ginny. She was feeling it. She forgot about him about the law, everything. She enjoyed this feeling.

"Isn't this fun!" Ginny shouted over the music.

Hermione only grinned in response. After a few more songs, she looked over towards her best friend.

"I'm going to get another drink; do you want anything?"

"Gin and tonic?"

Hermione nodded and squeezed her way through the crowd until she was at the bar. She ordered her drinks, but as she turned around, she bumped into someone, spilling her drinks.

"Oh Godric! I am so sor-"

She looked up into the silver eyes of the Slytherin Prince himself. His hair was messy, but in a dapper sort of way opposed to a lazy one. His white shirt was rolled up to his elbows, and the front was slightly wrinkled, and his collar was crooked. He reminded her of some sort of rich American frat boy.

"Malfoy," she said coldly

Draco just stood there, blinking and staring.

"Umm, Malfoy?"

"Bugger off! This is a Granger free night! I don't care how pretty you are; you make me upset!" he wagged his finger at her as if she was a small child being scolded.

Man was he plastered.

She looked down at her now wet dress before she pulled out her wand and magically dried the fabric. She looked up just in time to see Malfoy stomping off. She spotted Blaise and a few other Slytherins as well. Must have been a guy's night. Judging by Malfoy's adverse reaction to her presence earlier, she wouldn't have to worry about him bothering her later in the night.

She hoped that someone got that man some water before he ended up pickling his entire body. She made her way back to Ginny, empty-handed.

"What happened to our drinks?"

'Malfoy is here," Hermione answered sourly, "Blaise is too."

Ginny's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, Hermione held up her hand to cut her off.

"I'm too drunk to care, and I hope it gets worse."

"No, I meant-"

Hermione felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. She turned around to see possibly the most attractive wizard she had ever seen. He had brown hair that was close-cropped and sparkling blue eyes. Either she was really drunk, or this man was one of the Gods himself.

"I noticed that you spilled your drinks earlier, why don't I buy you another."

Hermione only smiled in response.

-DRACO-

"Granger is here!" Draco announced to Blaise

"Wait here? Right now?" He said, choking on his drink.

"Yes, and the She- Weasel. Tormenting me wherever I go," he said

"Aw mate, forget about her, about both of them."

Draco turned back towards the crowd, scanning it for any signs of the two girls. He saw Granger talking to some handsome wizard across the room. He felt jealousy bubble up in his chest. He pushed it down by grabbing the drink out of Blaise's hand and swallowing the last of it. He slammed the empty glass down on the table, not removing his gaze from her.

He saw her laugh at something he said, and that made Draco feel even angrier than before. He watched as the She-Weasel whispered something in her ear, Hermione nodded, and Ginny walked off towards the bar. He watched as the wizard began pulling Hermione out the club's back door leading to the alleyway.

"Oh, hell, no!" Malfoy said

Blaise was nowhere to be found, which created a problem: no Blaise, no one to stop Draco's tantrum. Malfoy pushed through the crowd towards the back door, determined.

It seemed like an eternity by the time he had reached the back. He flung open the door to see Hermione leaning against the brick wall, the wizard in front of her leaning in for a kiss.

"Hey! That's my wife!"

Malfoy balled his fist and threw a punch, catching him square in the jaw. The wizard stumbled, holding his jaw.

-GINNY-

Ginny sat at the bar, ordering her drinks. Someone sat down next to her catching her attention.

"Zabini," she said

"Weasley," he said nodding towards her

"I didn't expect to see you here tonight."

"I could say the same for you."

She turned to him, "what are you doing here?"

"Guy's night. Well more like babysitting at this point," he said, gesturing over his shoulder to the back-corner table Draco had since abandoned.

Ginny shifted in her chair, looking past him.

"A table? Or are you just a bloody awful babysitter?"

Blaise spun around and began frantically searching for his friend like a mother who had lost her small child at the market. Ginny began giggling.

"What's so funny, Weasley? I don't see your pet either!"

Ginny spun around to see that Hermione had disappeared as well. She turned back to him with wide eyes.

"They are most likely together, so we need to stick together. I have a feeling I know where they are."

He grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards the back door.

"Zabini! Where are we going?"

"Malfoy has a tendency to end up in alleyways when he drinks too much, for various reasons. Hopefully, he is not passed out in a bin again," he mumbled.

-DRACO and HERMIONE-

"Oi! What was that for?" the wizard said, clutching his jaw.

Draco shoved him back, and the wizard fell straight onto his back.

Draco drunkenly waved a finger at him "Stay away from her! You can't just go dragging birds into an alley!" He said whilst gesturing wildly.

"Fuck off, Malfoy!"

Draco spun around to face her, "You! Don't even get me started with you!"

The wizard watched as the two began bickering back and forth like a pair of children. He scrambled up from the ground and got the hell out of that alleyway.

"You don't get to make my decisions for me, Malfoy! We aren't even married! We don't even like each other!" Hermione shouted

"You can't just snog random wizards in an alleyway Granger! It's irresponsible and dangerous!"

"Oh, what do you care, Malfoy?!"

"I care! I actually care quite a lot!"

"Why?!"

"Because I love you! Because I have loved you since the moment I met you! Because I love how you constantly fight with me, how smart you are, how you keep me on my toes, how you don't let me bully you, because you never give up, because you are brave, because you're the best damn witch I've ever met and I haven't been able to get you out of my head since," Draco rested his forehead on hers, exhausted, "that's why."

Draco closed his eyes, ready for whatever damage she was about to deal next. He felt her hands come up, and he assumed she was about to strangle him, but to his surprise, she grabbed his head and brought his lips to hers, kissing him.

Unbeknownst to the two wizards, two pairs of eyes were peeking into the alleyway. Ginny and Blaise looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Should we... Stop them?" Ginny asked

"Nah, just leave them." Blaise said, dragging her back into the club.

-THE NEXT MORNING-

Hermione's head was pounding. Her mouth was dry and the world just seemed too bright before she had even opened her eyes. Regardless of her sick state, she knew something wasn't right. For one, it appeared that she had forgotten to get into bed with clothes on. Great. Oh. Oh no.

Problem 2.

She was NOT in her bed. She rolled over, fearing the worst. She saw the unmistakable shade of Malfoy blonde hair asleep next to her.

_Shit._

_**A/N: Sorry about the late update, my internet went out and I wasn't able to edit and post! **_


	14. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer: All Characters and canonical plots belong to J.K. Rowling, I'm just here for fun**_

_***NOTICE: MATURITY RATING HAS GONE UP!**_

_-CHAPTER 13-_

_She was NOT in her bed. She rolled over, fearing the worst. She saw the unmistakable shade of Malfoy blonde hair asleep next to her. _

_Shit._

_-HERMIONE-_

Hermione didn't hear herself scream but Malfoy woke with a start. He groaned and held his head.

"Gods Granger, you can shut up now!"

Hermione pulled the covers up to her chest in an attempt to spare what was left of her dignity. Her head was pounding, the world was too loud and she felt as if the room was spinning. She was experiencing the worst hangover she had ever felt in her entire life. Naked. In Draco Malfoy's bed of all places. Malfoy sat up, his hair was messy and disheveled. He reached over to his nightstand drawer and produced two vials of a red liquid. He handed her one.

"What is this?" She asked uncorking the vial and smelling it.

"My special version of a pepper up potion." He winked at her and downed the contents of the vial in one gulp. Hermione followed soon after.

Seconds later she began to feel the effects of the potion hitting her system. The world became less bright and less loud, her head stopped pounding and she no longer felt as if the room was spinning. The potion had fixed all of her problems.

All but one.

They sat there in an awkward silence before Malfoy sighed and laid back down, his arms stretched behind his head. There was the faintest trace of a smirk on his face.

"Do you find this entertaining?" Hermione said angrily

He turned to look at her, eyeing her up and down.

"Tell me, Granger, do you remember anything from last night?"

"No," she answered honestly, "Maybe bits and pieces, but nothing comes to mind."

Malfoy sat up and faced her, propping himself up on one arm.

"So, you are telling me that neither of us can remember the events that transpired last night but yet you are going bonkers about it?"

"Malfoy! We could have had sex!"

"That was going to happen anyway! Do you know where babies come from or will we need to have 'that' conversation?"

Hermione frowned, clearly unhappy with his answer. But she looked defeated. She threw herself back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. She could see Malfoy studying her face out of the corner of her eye but she couldn't read his expression.

"Granger, relax."

Hermione didn't move.

"How can you sit here with the given circumstances and tell me to relax?"

Malfoy pushed himself up next to her and looked down at her. The covers were wrapped tightly around her still so nothing was visible to him. He had a blanket draped around his hips, hiding everything but his chest from her.

"Hermione," he said softly putting two fingers under her chin gently

Hermione could only stare back at him in response.

His eyes flitted back and forth from her eyes to her lips until he finally settled his gaze on her lips. He slowly lowered his face down to meet hers only to hover centimeters from her lips. In an instant, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. It wasn't rough or hard, but gentle and timid as if he was a 4th year having his first kiss.

The worst part is that she liked it. She felt somehow closer to him after last night as if something had changed. I mean they had both ended up here so that had to mean there were some underlying feelings.

Right?

When he pulled away, she looked up at him.

"Why?" She croaked

He sighed and hung his head slightly.

"Because what's the point in fighting this anymore? After last night," He slumped back onto the headboard, "Fuck. It's inevitable. It's going to happen anyway, why not have it happen on our terms? I don't want to have a marriage that is 100% because the government wanted it. I want control. I want to have some sort of say in this situation. You know?"

Hermione nodded slowly. It didn't make sense, but she understood him. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life, not even during the war. She hated it.

"So, what does that mean? We start over?"

"I don't know," he said, "I don't care. I just want to make sure you're not completely miserable for the rest of your life."

She laughed bitterly, "I'm not sure that's entirely possible."

He rolled over to face her and propped his head up on his elbow. "And why is that?"

"Because I hate you. Or at least I am supposed to"

"I don't want to hate you anymore. It takes too much energy and I rather use that energy for something productive."

She rolled to face him, clutching the covers gently around her. They locked eyes and didn't speak for several seconds. Draco reached out a hand and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, pausing as his hand cupped her cheek.

"Maybe," he said clearing his throat, "maybe I'm still drunk, but I really want to kiss you," he said in a gentle half-whisper.

Hermione took a sharp breath and paused, "maybe I'm still drunk because I want you to."

His eyes darted from her lips to her face as he gracefully snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her in. Their faces hovered inches apart.

"I won't do anything without your permission."

She took in a deep, shaky breath, "I know."

Draco waited for some sort of green light but she gave away no such signals or hints. He was about to pull away when she laid a hand on his chest and looked at him.

"Please."

These words took Draco by surprise, never in a million years would he have expected to be in this situation, hearing those words, from her of all people. He gently grabbed her face and pulled her mouth to his. He kissed her slowly at first, not wanting to scare her away or overwhelm her. After a few moments, he pressed his lips to her harder and kissed her with more ferocity. They were both breathing hard as he rolled on top of her, not breaking the kiss. He waited for her to object or make some sort of indication that he was going too far, but she gave no illusion of such a thing. He snaked an arm around her back and pressed her to him. She reached up and threaded her fingers into his hair. He broke off the kiss to give her a chance to breathe and focused his attention to her neck. He kissed and nipped at it gently, careful to not leave a mark. Her fingers wound themselves tighter into his hair as she panted underneath him. He felt himself grow more excited the longer he kissed her. He pulled away and looked down at her red face.

"Do you," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "uh want-"

She nodded quickly.

His face broke out into a grin as he shifted slightly, "fantastic."

His lips found hers again with increased intensity as he moved the blanket that encompassed her form off of her so that they were both under the duvet. He pressed his naked body against hers and shivered. She felt so soft and so warm, he felt like someone was giving him small electric shocks wherever their skin touched. His hand snaked down and squeezed her thigh tightly. She jumped at the sensation and pressed up against him. He smiled into her neck and squeezed harder. Hand still on her thigh, he detached himself from her neck and looked down at her.

"You have to tell me what you like and don't like, this is about me as much as it is you," he said, looking her in the eyes, straight-faced and serious.

"Who knew you were such a gentleman in the sheets?" Hermione felt like her heart melted in her chest. But she didn't want him to know that.

He grinned back, " don't go spreading those rumors around Granger."

He gently moved her thighs apart and positioned himself accordingly. He leaned down to kiss her softly. He inched his hand softly up her inner thigh, making his way to her center slowly.

Hermione exhaled softly and arched her back, getting impatient. He looked up at her, making sure she kept eye contact, and he moved his lips down to place soft, slow kisses up her thigh. She let out an irritated huff. He took that as his cue to hurry things up. He made his way up steadily until his lips came to her hips. He paused and trailed his kisses across her lower stomach, the valley in between her breasts and then to her lips.

"Ready?" he breathed

She only nodded in response. He placed one hand on her hip to steady himself.

The door flew open with a loud bang, causing both of them to jump. From behind the door, he saw Blaise and Ginny. Draco threw himself down over Hermione in an attempt to cover her. Ginny's eyes were wide and Blaise just had the same stupid grin on his face.

"Oi! Malfoy! How are you doing mate?" He said

"How the fuck do you think I'm doing Zabini!?" He propped himself up slightly, giving her the chance to move herself out from under him without exposing herself. Her face was bright red as she pulled the comforter up to her nose.

"What in Godric's name do you want Zabini?"

"McGonagall sent for us 4," he said motioning to the both of them, "and she's not happy. Word got back to her about last night's events."

Draco groaned and threw himself back down on the bed. He rubbed his face tiredly.

"We will be there soon. Leave and we will meet you there," Draco said irritably

"Not a chance mate, gotta make sure you keep it PG. We will give you 10 minutes and if you're not in your common room by then, I'm coming back up here."

Draco responded by throwing a pillow at him. It would have hit him straight in the face if Blaise hadn't slammed the door shut.

Draco rubbed his face again, "Fuck!" he said from behind his hands

10 minutes later they were all walking down the corridor to the Headmaster's Office. The girls walked in front of them whispering back and forth to each other. The boys lagged behind. Blaise clapped a hand on Draco's back, still grinning. Draco's face was beyond pissed off.

"Zabini I swear to Godric. I will end you."

Blaise chuckled, "I'm happy for you mate."

Draco turned and looked at him, "nothing happened, thanks to you Captain Cockblock."

"But you made progress! You _almost _did."

"I _would _have done it if you had more than half a bloody brain cell. How the hell did you even get into our dorms?"

Blaise pointed ahead of him, "Ginny had the password."

"First name basis I see?"

Before Blaise could answer, the staircase spun open. They made their way into the Headmaster's Office one by one.

McGonagall sat behind the large desk, arms folded and mouth set in a straight line. No one said anything for several moments.

"Now correct me if I am wrong, did you or did you not leave campus after curfew?"

"We did," Blaise said

"And did you or did you not sneak off campus to go to Diagon Alley?"

"That would also be true," Ginny said sheepishly

"And would it also be true that you went to get intoxicated in a club in said place?"

"That's correct Headmaster," Hermione said

"Headmaster," Draco started "if I may-" She cut him off by holding up a single finger

"And is it also correct that _you Mr. Malfoy _assaulted another wizard at the said club? And to be more specific, in an alleyway behind the said club?"

"In my defense-"

McGonagall stood up quickly from her desk, making the 4 of them jump. "Mr. Malfoy, do you have any idea _who _you hit last night? You decided to pick a fight with the son of a very influential member of the Wizengamot. You are quite lucky he did not decide to press charges or expel you! No more unauthorized activities from any of you or all of you will be punished most harshly. Do I make myself clear?"

The four of them nodded.

"You are dismissed."

The four of them turned to leave when she spoke up again "Actually Mr. Malfoy, I'm not quite finished with you."

Draco paused and nodded to his classmates as they walked out the door. He turned around to face her and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Mr. Malfoy," he eyes softened, "this is your first and final warning. The Judge made it very clear to me that the next incident we have with you will null and void their original ruling. One more misstep Mr. Malfoy and you and your mother will be tried again and more likely than not be heading to Azkaban with your father."

The thought of his mother in Azkaban made his blood boil.

"Headmaster, it wasn't all my fault. How am I expected to-"

"I know Mr. Malfoy. However, the majority of the Wizarding World sees you as a threat. A terrorist and a war criminal. They don't want you wandering the streets or getting into spats at bars. They are looking for any reason to condemn you and your mother Malfoy, so I highly suggest you behave."

Draco felt his face turn beat red as she spoke.

"May I go now?"

McGonagall's eyes widened in surprise. He however didn't wait for an answer. He turned on his heel and stormed down the corridor until he eventually caught up with the rest of the group. He wordlessly pulled Hermione aside and into an abandoned classroom. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up onto a desk.

"Malfoy! What are you doing! You can't just- mmph!"

He pressed his lips against hers. He was feeling a mix of emotions but mainly just anger and he didn't want to feel angry anymore.

He unbuttoned his top shirt and untucked it from his pants, not breaking the kiss. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer, his hand snaking up her leg and lifting her skirt.

"What are you doing?" she panted. When he didn't answer her, she pulled away and pressed him again.

"Malfoy, why are you so angry? What did McGonagall say to you?"

He didn't meet her eyes, "nothing. I got it handled."

"So you're telling me you aren't angry?"

"No, I am extremely angry, which is why you are on this desk right now and why I am half-naked," he said kissing her again

"Why are you angry?"

"Because," he said kissing her neck, "that old bag has pissed me off and I was interrupted from a particular activity I've been looking forward to this morning."

"And this is how you express anger?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?" He growled

"No, uh, no. It's all… uh."

"Shut up Granger," he said pushing her so that she was lying down back on the desk, "just shut the fuck up."

She was startled by his sudden aggressive behavior. But she knew that she wanted this as badly as she did, and she was rather upset too that their sudden relationship development was cut short this morning. She grabbed his tie and pulled him to her, "gladly."

_**Hello! Thank you all for being patient! I am still working on figuring out my writing schedule right now so I apologize. Working in healthcare right now is crazy and I'm also getting married in a few short weeks! I've downloaded an app that allows me to write offline from my phone, so hopefully while I'm running around and away from my computer, I can get some things done. Please be patient and thank you all for so much love and support! I promise the next chapter will include some even more spicy parts ;) Until next time!**_

_**Xoxo Jessinger**_


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